The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania recently made history for a third party. According to a November 23, 2020 Press Release, the LPPA has won Minor Party status under Pennsylvania law:
While the bickering over the presidential election of 2020 drags on, and the battle of the two OLD parties’ politicians divide up the taxes and borrowed money, their efforts do nothing but gather animosity. However, the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania (LPPA) has exciting news to share. Through the efforts of our candidates, and volunteers, our grassroots campaigns have enabled the LPPA to attain minor party status!
How did we attain minor party status?
Through the hard work of candidates and activists statewide. These individuals collected signatures to get our candidates on the ballot, then got the word out about them with plenty of hard work and gumption. The rule to attain minor party status is that we needed to get 2% of the highest vote total in the previous statewide election. Our three candidates, Joe Soloski for Treasurer, Jennifer Moore for Auditor General, and Dan Wassmer for Attorney General, ALL reached the 2% threshold needed.
What does minor party status do for us, or what does it mean?
The big thing that this does for Pennsylvania Libertarians is it gives us a “check box” on voter registration forms. People can register as a Libertarian.
Without minor party status, our say regarding who our candidates are is limited, and it requires us to work harder to ensure that our nominated candidates are able to run under the Libertarian brand. Being a political body means anyone can claim to be a Libertarian if they turn in their petition signatures before the party’s endorsed candidate. Just remember that Harrisburg Republicans and Democrats write the laws quite intentionally to disenfranchise candidates and voters. Minor party status is something we have to fight for every two years under the laws they’ve written.
Minor party status also gives Libertarians instant ballot access to any special elections. No signature gathering required. The candidate needs only to secure the nomination of the party. This may not seem like much but it is very significant. In 2017 Tim Murphy (R) announced his resignation and created a vacancy in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. Libertarian Drew Gray Miller entered the race and immediately gave the party national attention and inspired future candidates.
It also gives us access to “Motor-Voter” registration. When Pennsylvanians get their driver’s licenses, they have the option to register to vote or change their party affiliation. It will no longer just have the same old parties. There will be an option to register as a Libertarian. Why is that important? If 15% of registered voters register as Libertarian, the party achieves major party status. Pennsylvania is one of the most difficult States to gain ballot access or maintain party status, yet we have more Libertarians elected than any other state.
Special thanks to the members of our Libertarian family for providing that extra effort needed to accomplish this during a pandemic. Our message was shared this year, and more people are beginning to listen. Undoubtedly, this work will lead more individuals to register as a Libertarian, to petition for Libertarian candidates, to run for public office as Libertarians, and most importantly, this work will encourage more to vote Libertarian.