Arizona Greens Make Bid to Regain Ballot Access for 2024

The Arizona Green Party is looking to reclaim ballot access ahead of the 2024 election cycle, with party organizers actively petitioning through the end of November. The party has collected over half of its goal amount.

In a press release shared through the national Green Party, the Arizona affiliate said it is looking to collect 70,000 signatures by the November 30 deadline. The party initially lost its access status in 2019, prompting then Green Party- presidential nominee Howie Hawkins to run as a write-in candidate the following year and the party to go through the arduous process of petitioning.

To regain access in time for the 2024 election cycle, the party must gather a minimum of 34,127 valid signatures. As of September, it reported to have collected 41,601 signatures

Amee Beck-Jones, both the Maricopa County and central and northern Arizona ballot access coordinator for the party, said that petitioning efforts primarily rely on grassroots organizing led by a small team of supporters. As a result, the group is actively seeking additional volunteers to help distribute and gather petitions.

“It’s a very small organization,” Beck-Jones said in the release. “Nothing close to what the Democrats and Republicans can run, obviously. So the main gist of this is still based on people, volunteers just getting out there.”

The group’s primary focus is independent voters, with data collected by the Arizona Secretary of State indicating that independent voters have historically played a significant role in Arizona politics. More recently, they have surpassed both the Republicans and Democrats, becoming the largest voting bloc in the state, albeit narrowly.

If the Arizona Green Party succeeds in its efforts, it will become the third party to secure a space on the ballot, joining the Libertarian Party and No Labels, with the latter being recognized earlier this year.