The Arkansas Secretary of State’s office has determined that the Green Party petition for presidential status, and the Constitution Party petition for presidential status, both have enough valid signatures. The Green Party is now on 22 ballots for president in 2016 and the Constitution Party is now on 14.
The Constitution Party probably also has enough valid signatures on its Alaska presidential petition, but the state still hasn’t checked the signatures because it is busy checking an initiative petition. Thanks to Tom Mayfield for the Constitution Party news.
Both BAN and IPR previously reported on the Green Party gaining ballot access in Arkansas this year, and on the Libertarians completing the statewide full party petition there, which takes ten times as many signatures. Libertarians currently lead the alt party pack with 31 states and counting. A fundraising drive to qualify Oklahoma and make it #32 for the LP is underway. I was also on a conference call with Greens to discuss the feasibility of them funding an Oklahoma ballot drive, but did not find out what they decided because I was only on for a portion of the call. The Libertarian and Green parties have already started in Oklahoma with volunteer signatures. I’m not privy to the Constitution Party’s ballot access plans, except that I have heard second hand from the Greens that they will work with them to help them both get on the ballot where possible. In Arkansas, they both hired the same petitioner to get most of their signatures. An earlier IPR story quoted Arkansas Greens saying they did not want to do the petition while the LP was working on its petition at the same time, but this petitioner also worked on the LP petition, and came back to the same location where he gathered his LP signatures a month or two later to get Green and Constitution Party petitions back to back.