Green Party Files Petitions, Stein on Ballot in Connecticut
by David Bedell, CT Green Party Secretary
The culmination of three months’ diligent effort, the Green Party of Connecticut has amassed 15,000 signatures of voters in order to secure Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s place on the Connecticut ballot.
The final batch of signatures was collected on 1,212 petition sheets, originally distributed throughout the state by over 400 party volunteers, independent activists and paid petitioners, and delivered Wednesday, August 10, to the Secretary of the State.
Current state law requires petitioners to gather 7,500 valid voter signatures in support of a third-party candidate in order to appear on the state’s presidential ballot line in November. According to GPCT co-chair Mike DeRosa, the additional names provide a safety margin against signatures disqualified by the Secretary of the State, Denise Merrill.
In a tempestuous presidential election year where the reaction of a growing number of voters to both major party candidates ranges from disappointment and fear to outrage, the necessity for real choices in the race for the Oval Office is more crucial than ever.
According to DeRosa, “We now have to wait about two weeks until we know if Stein has made it.”
Besides the presidential race, Eric Rowe of New Haven submitted a petition to run for State Senator, District 11. He is one of at least 15 GPCT candidates seeking election to federal, state, and local office in 2016. The Green Party is also recruiting candidates for appointment as local Justices of the Peace.
For more information: http://www.ctgreenparty.org, [email protected], (203) 581-3193.
About the Green Party of Connecticut and Jill Stein: A unity of local Green Party chapters, the GPCT is committed to grassroots democracy, social justice, non-violence and ecological wisdom. These are the Four Pillars of all Green parties worldwide and are the first four principles of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party (including decentralization, community-based economics, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, future focus and sustainability). We do not accept contributions from corporate PACs.
As the New Haven Register reports:
Stein will be listed on the November ballot along with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Also attempting to get on the Connecticut presidential ballot is Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.