The Massachusetts Forward Party, along with national party Executive Chair and former Lt. Governor Kerry Healey, will host a press event outside the State House in Boston later this week before formally filing for political designation status.
According to an email from Massachusetts State Lead Keoni Aricayos received on Monday, the party will meet outside the Massachusetts State House this coming Thursday, June 20, at 10:30 AM EST. The purpose of the gathering is to announce the party’s new political designation status and field related press questions. The party states that obtaining political designation status is the “first necessary step” toward achieving political party status.
“Political Designations grant minor party status to political groups within our state,” Aricayos states in the email. “This would allow voters to register as a Massachusetts Forward Party member and for candidates to run with the MFP designation next to their name.”
In addition to Aricayos, the email adds that Forward Party Executive Chair and former Republican Lt. Governor Kerry Healey, along with Sean Diamond, who is currently running for state senate in the Ninth Middlesex District as an independent candidate, will cohost the press event.
It’s also worth noting that political designation status is not necessarily the same as “minor party status,” which does not formally exist in Massachusetts. While a political designation allows a specific group or effort to be identified on the ballot and enables voters to enroll under that designation, voters associated with designations are still treated as unenrolled voters for primary elections and cannot participate in party-specific activities. Ballot access requirements are also significantly harder to navigate for recognized parties than for designations, with only 50 signatures needed to become a designation.
As of this article, Massachusetts recognizes over two dozen total political designations and only three political parties.
Thank you, Jordan; I had no clue that Massachusetts was so relaxed about changing party affiliation.
Thanks for the clarification, Art. It was a good explanation.
Nuña,
To the best of my knowledge and experience, there’s nothing in M.G.L. that stops you from cycling between labels. There are registration deadlines ahead of elections to consider, as well as rules pertaining to certain party leadership roles, but you can otherwise party hop if you desire.
Does Massachusetts have any limit on the number of times you can change registration per year? Or on the amount of time that must pass between each change in registration?
Hi, Art! Could you explain a little further?
When I was a municipal elections official in Massachusetts during the last decade, how you’re describing unenrolled voters post-automating the process was also how we regularly treated voters associated with political designations for primary elections. Both types of voter could request a ballot from the major party of their choice on the day of the primary election, and neither would have their political affiliation changed after casting their ballot. Is there additional nuance that I’m misunderstanding?
Actually persons registered as a ‘designation’ ARE treated differently from “Unenrolled”in MA… An unenrolled voter can choose to ‘switch’ into any one ‘Party’ for a day in order to vote in that party’s primary… An unenrolled voter can’t do that, as they only allow one “step change” at a time, so if you are registered as a member of a party OR as a ‘designation’ you could only switch to ‘unenrolled’ but not to a different party….
It used to be that if you did switch from unenrolled to a party in order to vote in that party primary, you had to specifically take the step of switching back, but they realized that this was just extra paperwork for everyone. The system is now that if you are unenrolled you just say which primary ballot you want to vote and they don”t actually make any changes….
ART – Mass Resident, Registered L, former MA LP State Committee, Former Presidential Elector Candidate, Former Elected and Appointed office holder, now chair of our town’s Commission on Disability