Document:LPNY Email 28 November 2017 Support Ballot Access on GivingTuesday
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Libertarian Party Continues Growth
Over the past couple of years, the Libertarian Party has gained momentum as the cracks in the two-party system combined with the dissatisfaction of those two old parties. These create great opportunities for the Libertarian Party. Nationally, the Libertarian Party is the third largest and the fastest growing political party.
2018: An Extraordinary Opportunity
In 2018, we have an extraordinary opportunity to achieve recognized party status for the Libertarian Party. We will have a slate of statewide candidates running for various offices, including governor. We will need to receive at least 50,000 votes for governor in order to attain official recognition as a political party, for the first time, in New York State.
To achieve recognized party status, we first need to secure ballot access for our 2018 candidates as an independent nominating body, which is our current status. As such, we will be required to collect 15,000 valid petition signature for our 2018 statewide candidates. Because of anticipated challenges, we will need to collect at least twice that number in order to guarantee ballot access.
We need your help as we work to achieve our petitioning goal and address any legal challenges to our petitions that will inevitably ensue. That’s why we have set a fundraising goal of $178,800. The goal is high, but the benefits for achieving major party status will create extraordinary opportunities for the years to come.
Click to Donate to Our Ballot Access Fundraiser
Benefits of Recognized Party Status
Once we achieve recognized party status, our statewide petitions for 2020 and 2022 would require a significantly less number of petition signatures. If we had recognized party status today, we would only need about 400 petition signatures for statewide offices instead of 15,000 and significantly less than 400 for other offices.
This would save us thousands of dollars per statewide election cycle, freeing up resources that have normally been dedicated to the petitioning effort every election year. Those resources will then be available for campaigning, outreach and to grow the Libertarian movement in our state.
While state election law has worked against us, with your help, we can overcome this obstacle.
We Need Your Help
We are confident that we can accomplish these goals in this election cycle and gain simplified ballot access for all local, county, and state elections throughout New York in the years to come, with the much lower petition signature requirements that go with it and freeing up resources to further promote liberty.
Any contribution to our ballot access fund, whether it is a few dollars or thousands of dollars, will help get our statewide Libertarian candidates on the ballot and help get our message of free markets, civil liberties, and peace out to the voters. It will also help us get ahead of any baseless, politically motivated challenges that may be thrown our way.
Click the donate button below to contribute to our ballot access fundraiser.
Click to Donate to Our Ballot Access Fundraiser
Do you want to get involved in the Libertarian Party? Let us know! Fill out our volunteer form here and also find your local affiliate here.