Document:National Email Monday Message 28 June 2010 Help us help New York
June 28, 2010
Dear Friend of Liberty,
The Libertarian Party of New York needs our help getting its candidates on the ballot this year.
Please make a generous donation today.
The New York LP needs 15,000 valid signatures in a petition drive starting July 6 and ending August 17. That's just 6 weeks.
While we expect many New Yorkers to volunteer and for the state party to spend most of their own funds on this drive, they simply cannot make this happen without financial help from the National Libertarian Party.
The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) recently approved spending $25,000 to aid New York's petition drive. We haven't spent that money, but we've authorized it. Authorizing those funds was a very difficult decision for the LNC. Our resources are limited, and deciding how to fairly and optimally allocate funds is not easy.
Your donation to the Libertarian Party will help ease the strain.
So far this year, the national LP has helped four other states with petition drives.
- We spent $15,000 to get the Libertarian Party of New Mexico back on the ballot for four years.
- We spent $35,000 to assist the LP Illinois petition drive (signatures were submitted and we're awaiting confirmation of success).
- We recently sent $6,000 to the Pennsylvania LP to assist with their petition drive.
- We approved $21,000 for the LP Nebraska petition drive, which is currently underway.
New York is the only remaining state that is a priority for ballot access this year.
The New York LP has 17 candidates trying to get on the ballot.
That includes both U.S. Senate seats and Warren Redlich for Governor. Warren Redlich was Ron Paul's attorney in New York in 2008, helping make sure Ron Paul was on the ballot for the presidential primary.
According to his website, Mr. Redlich wants to eliminate departments and functions to save $5 billion. Mr. Redlich has been a strong supporter of drug policy reform for more than a decade. He has worked with groups such as ReconsiDer, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, and the Drug Policy Alliance.
Ballot access petition drives cost money, but they also generate immediate benefits. Petitioners speak directly to voters one-on-one about the Libertarian Party. When people sign a Libertarian petition, it "breaks the ice" and helps them feel a small connection to our party, so many of them will feel comfortable voting for our candidates on Election Day.
The LP is famous for being the most successful third party at gaining ballot access. In order to be most effective, we need to be a nationwide political party.
New York is the third most populous state in America. The New York LP has a great slate of candidates.
I hope you will help us help the New York LP today by making a generous contribution to help fund our $25,000 assistance to them.
Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
P.S. If you have not yet become a member of the Libertarian Party and wish to do so, please click here and join the only political party dedicated to free markets and civil liberties. If you need to renew, please click here. If you would like to make a contribution separate from membership, please click here.
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