Petition Drive Slower Than Expected

Petition Drive Slower than Expected

by Sean Haugh

As reported in last issues TL, our ballot drive is still underway. Unfortuately, it has been going much slower than expected. Right now, we have collected only about one quarter of the number of signatures we need to retain our ballot status.

According to state law, the State Board of Elections can issue an order to disaffliliate the Libertarian Party if we do not complete the drive by late February. However, this does not mean that they must or will do so.

Considering that we have an active ballot drive underway, it would be an expensive proposition for them to disaffliliate us only to have to reaffliliate us immediately. They may also be inclined to work with us for other reasons, including our current ballot access reform legislation (see article). Yes, it is a calculated risk we are taking, but as of now we have few other options.

If the ballot drive is completed by June 1, we are guaranteed official ballot status for the 1997 local elections. Also, whenever we get it done, we will retain our official party designation at least through the elections in 2000.

This means we still need to be active in collecting signatures, both with paid petitioners provided by the national office, and with our own volunteer efforts. Many of you have already pitched in, and for that we are very grateful. However, now is the time to send out the call once again.

Enclosed with this issue is a blank copy of the petition form. Please note that these petitions must be turned in to the various county boards of elections, so be sure to keep signatures of voters from different counties on different sheets. Make sure the address given is where the voter is actually registered to vote. If you find people who are not registered to vote, easy to use voter registration forms can be obtained from the LPNC or from your local county Board of Elections.

Any number of signatures will help, even if all you can send is your own. However, you may be surprised how many of your friends and coworkers would be happy to sign. It costs us about $1 for each signature collected by a professional petitioner. Every one you get saves us an extra dollar, which can be used for other vital work, such as membership recruitment. If you have already been collecting signatures, now is the time to send them in!

So please, help our party stay on the ballot. Thank you for all you have done in the past, and thank you for answering the call one more time. With a little extra effort in the next two months, we hope that this is the last petition to be included with the Tarheel Libertarian for many years to come.

Previous Article - Next Article

Back to Tarheel Libertarian Feb/Mar 1997 Issue