The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is suing to revoke the major party status of the Legal Marijuana Now Party and see that its 2024 candidates only appear on the general election ballot if they follow the procedure outlined for independents. The push comes after the Legal Marijuana Now Party was certified following paperwork stating it held all necessary district and county conventions to meet new state requirements on a single day and in the same timeframe.
According to the petition filed last week, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party argues that the Legal Marijuana Now Party could not have held the necessary number of conventions in its provided timeframe, calling it “practically and logistically impossible.” As a result, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party wants the state to declare that the Legal Marijuana Now Party is not a major party as defined by state law and to prohibit the party’s candidates from appearing on the ballot using the mechanisms only available to major parties.
In an initial letter to the Secretary of State’s office dated November 8, 2023, the Legal Marijuana Now Party claimed to have held an in-person and Zoom convention on June 8, 2022, followed by a second event on April 29, 2023. However, the Secretary of State’s office rejected the letter as it was written. A second letter submitted by the party later that month on November 21 restated that it held “state, congressional district, county, and legislative district conventions” on June 8, 2022. This letter was also rejected for failing to include necessary information regarding those gatherings.
A third letter was submitted on November 27, providing the missing information in the form of an addendum and stating that the party had eight congressional district conventions and 67 county and senate district conventions. It further indicated that all 75 conventions, in addition to the initial state convention, took place on June 8, 2022, and in the same timeframe. The party was ultimately certified following the third letter.
However, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party said in its petition that such a thing is implausible and is now advocating for the state to correct its “erroneous certification.”
“The Secretary’s decisions to certify the LMN Party as a major political party notwithstanding its plain ineligibility for such status and to allow the LMN Party to participate in the 2024 presidential nomination primary were erroneous, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party asserts in its filing. “Petitioner brings this petition to prevent subsequent errors—namely, allowing candidates to appear on the ballots for the state primary or general election utilizing the procedures available for candidates seeking the nomination of a major political party—which are the natural consequence of the Secretary’s erroneous certification of the LMN Party.”
The filing also criticized the Legal Marijuana Now Party for placing a candidate on its March 5, 2024, presidential primary ballot without their consent. Additionally, it raised further concerns about the organization’s structure, particularly regarding the presence of a “Head Council” with senior members instead of a State Executive Committee, among other things.
The Legal Marijuana Now Party released a statement in response to the petition over Facebook on Monday afternoon, saying the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party wants to “ignore the will of 190,000 Minnesotans” who supported its 2020 candidate for United States Senate and that it trusts the state Supreme Court will agree that retroactively revoking its status violates due process.
“The DFL Party wants the Minnesota Supreme Court to restrict voters’ choices when casting their ballots. Fortunately the court must consider whether retroactive requirements that were put into place last year, by the DFL, stand up to scrutiny,” the party stated. The complete statement is available here.
The Democratic party is actually arguing that the Legal Marijuana party couldn’t have held the necessary number of conventions because they wrote the rules so that it wouldn’t be possible. Points for honesty?