Green Party Made the Ballot in IL; Looks Promising in AZ, NV, and WA; Ballot Pushes in GA, PA, MO, KS, and CT
In Illinois, the Green Party/Jill Stein submitted 50,000 signatures and will be on the ballot in Illinois. Ballot access movements are looking promising in Nevada, Washington, and Arizona. State deadlines for ballot access are coming up in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Kansas, and Connecticut.
First off, in Washington, enough signatures have been submitted to get the Party/Jill on the ballot well in advance of the July 23 deadline.
In Nevada, there apparently is no longer a deadline, and right now they are gathering signatures. You can read about some of the activity going on there at the Nevada Green Party Ballot Access Facebook Forum
In Arizona, it appears that the Green Party will be on the ballot
In Georgia, the deadline is July 12, and they are currently gathering and counting signatures. Their goal is 12,500 signatures and the amount needed is 7,500. You can read about some of the activity going on at the Georgia Green Party Facebook page.
In Pennsylvania, the deadline is August 1, and prospects have greatly improved as the number of signatures needed was reduced from 21,000 to 5,000 signatures in a court decision. You can read about some of the activity going on at the Green Party of Pennsylvania Facebook page.
In Missouri, the deadline is July 25 to collect 10,000 signatures. There was a St. Louis Ballot Access Meeting at 5PM today. You can read about some of the activity going on there at the Missouri Green Party Facebook page.
In Kansas, they have until August 1 to collect 5,000 signatures. You can read about them at the Kansas Green Party Facebook group.
In Connecticut, they have until August 10 to collect 5,000 signatures. You can read about their ballot access activity at The Green Party of Connecticut webpage.
General information about ballot access for all states can be found here
You can follow Jill's twitter account here.
Comments
Excellent. Thank you for the update. #JillNotHill #BernieOrBust
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
Thank you. Great news.
Whatever Sanders' millions of supporters do longer term, voting Green for President is, I think, the only viable option for voting for this coming November.
I am especially happy to learn that a court overturned an onerous ballot access requirement. Come January, ballot access, voting eligibility in both primary and general elections, paper ballots, vote counting and the like need to be our first priorities. Without clean and open elections, everything else is paper frills on the legs of a roast turkey.
I'm with you.
Normally, I'd prefer more experience, but every time Clinton camp says, "Clinton has more experience and will work with Republicans to do more things because pragmatism," I'll hear, "Dr. Stein will cause no harm."
Yup, barring one of Bernie's
Yup, barring one of Bernie's patented miracles, voting Green is the only real option. If all those aware of what the billionaire/corporate choices actually represent voted Green, the corporate/billionaire interests would have to... gee, I dunno... cheat or something in order to get Clinton coronated.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Illinois
This is great news for all of us Bernie supporters in Illinois, if Bernie is not the nominee. So many people have told me they want to vote 3rd party. Now we have an alternative. Because Rahm Emanuel is so unpopular in Chicago, Illinois will be a challenge for Clinton. She barely made it over the finish line during the Illinois primary in March. I have yet to see a bumper sticker or sign for Clinton in her birth state. She is not liked here and Emanuel is strongly identified with the Clintons, since their relationship goes back over 20+ years.
"According to the poll, 62 percent of Chicago residents disapprove of Emanuel's job performance. Among African Americans, the rating is even higher at 70 percent."
http://abc7chicago.com/politics/poll-rahm-emanuels-approval-rating-conti...
And given what the Illinois Fair Ballot Commission found
not only did she barely beat Bernie there, but she definitely had to steal votes to get there.
Posted about Arizona last weekend
It kinda got lost due to the site issue here. The Green Party candidate will be on the ballot in November. They're currently working on getting the slate of electors onto the primary ballot for August after a missed deadline.
See here: http://caucus99percent.com/content/az-sos-will-help-az-green-party-elect...
“We may not be able to change the system, but we can make the system irrelevant in our lives and in the lives of those around us.”—John Beckett
Thanks for the affirmation about Arizona Ballot Access
Good post. I read it.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
I posted your state by state list on Reddit...
But, combined with my prose, it was seen as a rules violation (promoting other presidential candidates). I thought it might be when I posted it, so no big deal. It did surprise me, though, that someone found it so incredibly offensive (to Greens) that s/he didn't want to be in the same party as me. Actually, I can easily understand someone not wanting to be in the same party as me. Just surprised about the reason given.
My post:
Note: I hope this isn't seen as a violation of rule #5. Depending on how things go at the convention, some of us plan to ask Bernie to consider other options.
First off, I'm not suggesting a priority shift away from anything convention related for those engaged. I think that's important and I still think it's worthwhile to write letters to delegates if you feel so inclined. I encourage folks to communicate in a way that allows for the possibility that the recipient is simply struggling to understand a confusing situation, just as many of us are (That is quite possible, but even if it's not true of the individual you're reaching out to, anyone can be receptive to a narrative that makes them look good). Beyond that, in my view, the most important thing to impress upon them is the critical importance of making a legitimate effort to understand exactly what they are deciding. They get to decide whatever they want. No need to pretend otherwise. But they do not get to hide from this. No one gets to pretend that they somehow didn't notice an ongoing travesty of this magnitude. No one gets to pretend that they somehow didn't notice that the Democratic Party turned against millions of its own members as if we were an opposing political party. No more pretending. Choose wisely and fucking own it. We have choices to make too and we will make our choices under the assumption that they fully understood theirs.
That said, by the time of the convention, two more state deadlines for ballot access will have passed. It's not just that, though. I know it was Dr. Stein who originally raised the possibility of working together and everyone has been polite, but I have to wonder how some of this looks to existing Green activists. I think everyone gets that we're in a weird place, but imagine if a bunch of people from a party that had offered you nothing but contempt and open hostility were suddenly acting as if they were your new overlords. That's gotta be a little offputting, no? I don't think that's who we are and maybe a meaningful gesture with no strings attached would be a nice way to show that. It would lay the foundation for a much healthier relationship than waiting to see what happens in Philadelphia. I think we all agree that progressives need to come together more across party lines. This would be a good way for us to signal to everyone else that we have no expectations for that to occur in the place where we happen to be standing. Helping the Greens get more states is good thing no matter what we may choose or build for ourselves in the future.
I also think we need to make an effort to understand what we need from each other here in this group. Some of us do not want to make any decisions until after the convention. Others want to be working toward something now and fear that we are losing focus. A lot of incorrect assumptions can be made across that line. A common purpose that satisfies both needs might be good right now.
Safety tips for interacting with Greens:
In my experience, lefties of different groups are almost always much closer to each other than they realize. When you consider the endless variables and the infinite range of values that one might assign to any one of those variables, filtered through individual life experience, notions about strategic priorities, subjective understanding of specific words and the related range of symbolic meaning assigned to words, actions, institutions, and concepts, that all come together, along with all kinds of emotional baggage and unrelated noise that we've failed to filter, in this confused and sophisticated and gloriously unique individual snowflake of a mess that is then ground up and expressed to other humans as one of three flavors of generic canned dogfood that may or may not have been labeled correctly, perhaps it's understandable that we sometimes misjudge the distance from each other.
To put it another way, imagine looking at a measuring stick and focusing on the distance between the 14 millimeter mark and the 17 millimeter mark, but the smallest unit of measurement that you know to communicate is a kilometer. Now imagine that you are number 17 and you are introducing yourself to number 14. You're frustrated because you sense that you're pretty close to each other, but you're not sure if you have the words to express that. You take a chance in hopes that you will be understood correctly, but your words are heard like this: "Greetings! My name is Nancy and I'm here to represent the Henry Kissinger wing of the Democratic Party! Let's get started! Together, we'll make the Green Party a major player in the military industrial complex!" You're still smiling, but getting only a cold dark stare in return (If this happens, keep an eye on their hands and back away slowly. Forget about their bullshit pacifist propaganda. Greens will taze the fuck out of you if they think you were sent by Kissinger and that Taser will be the last thing you remember when you wake up in a dark alley half way around the globe with a shaved head, an ABBA tattoo, and a pocked full of carwash tokens, only to discover that 17 months have gone by.). We've all heard those rumors, so yes, it's normal to feel cautious when approaching a Green. And that's especially true if you're from a tribe associated with the word "progressive" now that Clinton has openly embraced Kissinger and called herself a progressive on TV (I don't know that anyone has yet had a chance to fully digest that).
However, there is a way to approach a Green safely and with confidence that you will be understood correctly. Say these exact words in this exact order: "May I help you collect signatures?". That phrase is understood to every leftist tribe exactly the same way. Green parents pass that knowledge down to their offspring the same way that we do. That phrase is deeply woven into our shared traditions and is understood with the same meaning in all of our sacred texts. That phrase alone should be enough here since it explains both intention and motivation (You're answering a call from their tribe's leader and you agree that the time has come for tribes to unite against common threats). However, as an extra measure of caution, if a Green asks you anything about yourself, say these words: "I like the blue umbrella." This will not be understood, but the Green too will then begin to assume that any apparent differences are just matter of communication issues. From that point, you should be safe even if you mess up and mention Kissinger or Democrats.
It will get better. We'll figure out how to identify ourselves to each other and communicate more easily. Until then, assume the best of one another, assume the best of other progressive communities, and remain mindful of the degree to which our own feelings of anger and betrayal can amplify existing levels of confusion.
Now, for those interested, via paradigmshift @ caucus99percent:
They are already on the ballot in: AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, HI, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NM, NY, OH, OR, SC, TX, WI, WV.
Here are the deadlines and links to state information:
Alabama - August 18 (http://www.jill2016.com/alabama_ballot_access)
Alaska - August 10 (http://www.jill2016.com/alaska_ballot_access)
Connecticut - August 10 (http://www.jill2016.com/connecticut_ballot_access)
Delaware - weird, they need to register unregistered voters (http://www.jill2016.com/delaware_ballot_access)
Georgia - July 12 (http://www.jill2016.com/georgia_ballot_access)
Idaho - August 24 (http://www.jill2016.com/idaho_ballot_access)
Illinois - June 27 (http://www.jill2016.com/illinois_ballot_access)
Iowa - July 30 (http://www.jill2016.com/iowa_ballot_access)
Kansas - August 1 (http://www.jill2016.com/kansas_ballot_access)
Kentucky - September 9 (http://www.jill2016.com/kentucky_ballot_access)
Minnesota - August 23 (http://www.jill2016.com/minnesota_ballot_access)
Missouri - July 25 (http://www.jill2016.com/missouri_ballot_access)
Montana - August 17 (http://www.jill2016.com/montana_ballot_access)
North Dakota - September 5 (http://www.jill2016.com/north_dakota_ballot_access)
Nebraska - August 1 (http://www.jill2016.com/nebraska_ballot_access)
New Hampshire - August 10 (http://www.jill2016.com/new_hampshire_ballot_access)
New Jersey - August 1 (http://www.jill2016.com/new_jersey_ballot_access)
Nevada - July 5th (http://www.jill2016.com/nevada_ballot_access)
Oklahoma - July 15 (http://www.jill2016.com/oklahoma_ballot_access)
Pennsylvania - August 1 (http://www.jill2016.com/pennsylvania_ballot_access)
Rhode Island - September 9 (http://www.jill2016.com/rhode_island_ballot_access)
South Dakota - July 11 (http://www.jill2016.com/south_dakota_ballot_access)
Utah - August 15 (http://www.jill2016.com/utah_ballot_access)
Virginia - August 26 (http://www.jill2016.com/virginia_ballot_access)
Vermont - August 1 (http://www.jill2016.com/vermont_ballot_access)
Washington state - July 23 (http://www.jill2016.com/washington_state_ballot_access)
Wyoming - August 29 (http://www.jill2016.com/wyoming_ballot_access)
Anything offensive in that?
The first section boils down to "It will be difficult for us to ask Greens (in the future) for anything that we are unwilling to consider ourselves today." That last section isn't even really about Greens. It's meant to poke fun at the general nature of interaction across leftist communities. I've always valued and encouraged overlapping membership in local leftist groups. I suppose it's an instinct that is held over from an era before social media (or even usenet), but it helped ensure that important ideas would find their way around organically and allowed folks to come together more quickly when necessary.
It still seems important today, but in a different way. I believe the more lines that progressives are willing to cross to help each other, the stronger we will be. I also believe that doing so plays to our existing strengths, blurs our already amorphous nature, and makes us more difficult to predict or control. We've had this bad habit of thinking we need to emulate right wing constructs (We'll get our own Rush Limbaugh. We'll build our own Daily Kos.) Maybe time to break some old habits. What is our nature? What are our strengths? Brand loyalty is the way of our enemy. We have no obligation to play by the rules of our enemy. We can use different tools for different needs and maintain those tools as we see appropriate. You are my political affiliation. All of you.
I suspect you encountered a Clintonite posing as a Green
I think there is a lot of disinfo and conflict out there on the internet about the Greens. And I suspect some of the problems are people posing as Greens who are really Clinton supporters (maybe paid Clinton employees, hired by SuperPACs) trying to stir up conflict on the Internet.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
I copied your Safety Tips
and posted it as a separate comment on fb.
Now I need to go and share the whole post and thread.
[Love your work!]
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
And I placed on the Green Party fb page.
We'll see if they have a sense of humor.
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
This should be posted on the Bernie Reddit page
If Bernie's army would concentrate it's energy on Green Ballot access, they could make short work of it. And let's face the obvious, there is no way in Hell that the Corrupt Dems will give Bernie the nomination. The convention will just be a Hellery coronation event.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
I posted a link to your essay
on this reddit site:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Political_Revolution/comments/4rp533/wonderful_...
This site is a spinoff of s4p and considers options for after the convention. Look into them, okay?
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
Forget about their bullshit
I'm gonna fit right in