Green Party Considers Special Fund to Identify Nonpartisan Local Candidates

The National Committee of the Green Party of the United States is considering a proposal to establish a special fund aimed at improving its ability to identify both registered Green Party candidates running in nonpartisan local elections and those already holding local office in states that track voter registration by party.

The proposal was introduced in early February by the party’s Steering Committee. It would establish the fund as a “Special Project” under the party’s Fiscal Policy, which would then be used to provide resources for state Green affiliates to track and recognize Green Party members who are either seeking or currently holding elected positions in nonpartisan races.

According to the proposal, 28 states and Washington, D.C., actively allow voter registration by political party. Among them, 22 states and D.C. specifically count Green Party registrations. However, in many of these areas, a majority of state parties lack the means to systematically identify Greens running for nonpartisan offices, leaving a significant portion of Green candidates and officeholders untracked.

“If this work was done in most of all of the voter registration-by-party states in which one can register Green and have it be counted, that also have non-partisan local elections, arguably even more registered Green candidates and officeholders would be identified,” the proposal argues. “Alternatively, the failure to do this work means the number of reported registered Green candidates and officeholders in nonpartisan races across the U.S. is likely significantly understated., and thereby the strength of the Green Party understated as well.”

The proposal notes that much of the current research identifying Green candidates in nonpartisan elections has been conducted by Elections Database Manager Mike Feinstein, with additional contributions from Maine Green Party co-chair Lyn Maravelli. However, these efforts are described as “extremely time-consuming,” and divert attention from other essential database management tasks. The proposal also argues that a more decentralized and structured approach would improve state parties’ awareness of Green candidates while also allowing them to learn more about specific local races in their states.

To that end, the proposal calls for a dedicated donation fund to support these efforts, with a standalone donation link featured on the Green Party’s website. The party notes that it won’t “compel any funding” from its annual budget. Additionally, it would include periodic fundraising emails targeting current and former Green officeholders. The Elections Database Manager position would also be expanded to oversee stipend administration for state parties choosing to engage in this work.

If approved, the Special Fund would remain active through 2029, with periodic performance evaluations determining any potential extensions. Discussion on the motion will continue until March 2, with voting scheduled for the following week. According to the Green Party’s National Committee vote tracker, the motion requires a two-thirds majority to reach a consensus.