Georgia Libertarians are actively petitioning to regain ballot access in time for the 2026 election cycle. The party lost access following last year’s presidential election, which was then the only qualifying statewide race on the ballot.
Georgia’s WABE reported May 19 on the party’s efforts, noting it has already held two events centered on collecting signatures. The article quotes Chase Oliver, a current member of the state party’s Executive Committee and the Libertarian Party’s 2024 presidential nominee, who says the party is looking to collect 100,000 signatures.
Oliver, who received 20,684 votes in the state for 0.39 percent, originally would have needed to earn at least one percent of the total number of registered voters in the presidential race for the party to retain the ability to field candidates for statewide office without needing to petition.
In the report, Oliver attributes the loss of status to the presidential election being the only qualifying race on the ballot, which would typically also include elections for the state’s Public Service Commission. Those elections were postponed in 2022 and 2024 due to a federal lawsuit that alleged the statewide method of electing commissioners diluted the voting power of Black residents under the Voting Rights Act.
According to Richard Winger of Ballot Access News, the Libertarian Party would have likely retained its ballot access had Georgia held its Public Service Commission elections, pointing to the party’s past performances in that race. Before elections were delayed, the party’s nominees for the commission earned 2.7 percent of the total in 2020 and 2.7 and 2.5 percent in 2018.
The Georgia Secretary of State has since announced that the state is moving forward with two special statewide elections for the Public Service Commission this November. However, due to the party’s loss of political body status, only the Republican and Democratic candidates will appear on the ballot.
To qualify for 2026, the Libertarian Party of Georgia must collect signatures equal to at least one percent of all voters who participated in the 2024 general election by July 14 to become a recognized organization. An estimate from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office provided by WABE suggests the minimum amount would come to approximately 72,679 signatures.
I read it. Most of it was interesting in one way or another. I’m not sure which parts of it can or can’t or should or should not be shared or commented on here.
Extensive discussion at https://ballot-access.org/2025/05/20/georgia-libertarian-begins-petitioning-to-regain-qualified-statewide-status/ for anyone with the time and tolerance to wade through a lot of trolling / off topic stuff / tangents
Best wishes to the Georgia Libertarian Party for success on their ballot access petitioning drive!
They will fail. It’s not going to be close. Not even in the ballpark.