Today, Monday, June 27, the Illinois Green Party will be submitting petitions to gain ballot access as a party and for candidates Jill Stein for President, William Kreml for Vice President, Scott Summers for US Senate, and Tim Curtin for State Comptroller. The petition contains approximately 50,000 signatures of Illinois voters who want to see the Green Party on the ballot in November.
Ironically, the state requires the Green Party to file a “New Party” petition, in spite of the fact that the Greens have been active and running candidates in Illinois for over ten years. This is because out-dated, draconian, anti-democratic ballot laws force parties other than the Republicans and Democrats to meet unrealistic vote thresholds or to petition for ballot access every election cycle.
“The outpouring of support for the Green Party has been tremendous”, says Nancy Wade, Illinois Ballot Access Coordinator and former Green Party candidate for Congress. “People from all walks of life are rising up and demanding more than the two corrupt choices they are offered year after year. The 50,000 signatures we are turning in this year is significantly more than the 29,000 we gathered in 2014.”
Gloria Mattera, chair of the Jill Stein for President campaign, adds, “Like so many states, Illinois tries to squelch voter choice and voter participation by limiting ballot access to the two so-called Major Parties. High signature requirements and early filing deadlines are only two of the ways these parties participate in voter suppression, which includes limiting the Presidential debates to their own two candidates. What are they afraid of?”
Upon filing of this petition, the Green Party and its nominees will be on the ballot in 22 states, including IL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, DC, FL, HI, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NM, NY, OH, OR, SC, TX, WI, WV. 28 states have deadlines later this summer.
The Green Party’s national Presidential Nominating Convention will be held in Houston, Texas, August 3-6- the theme: “Houston- we have a solution”. Jill Stein is the presumptive nominee, having secured 210 delegates to date.