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Thursday, March 4, 2004
Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty@greens.org
GREEN PARTY RESULTS IN MARCH 2 PRIMARIES AND
ELECTIONS
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Greens cast votes for presidential candidates in
Super Tuesday primary elections in California, Rhode Island, and
Minnesota, with the following results:
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In Santa Fe, New Mexico, Green municipal judge
Fran Gallegos was re-elected to her third term on March 2, with 55%
of the vote in a four-way election. Ms. Gallegos is popular
for her innovative sentencing practices that favor community service
instead of imprisonment. Ms. Gallegos, who is Latina, is
currently the only Green judge in the U.S.
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In California, Pamela Elizondo and Patricia Gray
won contested Green congressional primaries. Incumbent Michael
Harrington, incumbent Green candidate for Davis City Council was
defeated in a highly contested race, finishing fifth out of eight
candidates for three seats.
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After the March 2, 2004 elections, there are now
203 Greens elected to public office in the U.S.
Other Green election news:
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In Maryland, thousands of voters protested the
use of paperless electronic voting by demanding paper ballots and
demonstrating at precincts in Takoma Park, Baltimore, and
Annapolis. The protests were organized by the Campaign for
Verifiable Voting in Maryland (TrueVote) <http://www.TrueVoteMD.org>,
led by Green activists Linda Schade and Kevin Zeese. TrueVote noted
complaints that precincts in Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties
had computer crashes, votes were lost, Democrats were given computer
cards for Republican ballots, and the choices on some machines were
incomplete.
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TrueVote estimated that one-third of Maryland
voters who requested paper ballots were given them. While many
judges expressed concern with the new electronic voting system, they
followed the orders of the Maryland Board of Elections and refused
to provide paper ballots. Greens across the U.S. have called
for paper ballots in response to flawed, easily manipulable, and
unverifiable computer voting machines.
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The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has
refused to release the names and to count the votes cast for
write-in Green candidates in District's January 13 primary,
prompting DC Statehood Greens to charge that the Board is blocking
the party from selecting delegates for the national Green
convention. As many as 3 of the 11 Statehood Green delegates
could be determined by the write-ins (31% of the total).
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Statehood Greens were told that the Board's rules
direct it not to count write-ins unless the count would modify the
outcome of an election, i.e., who the winner is. Statehood
Greens argue that primaries are held not just to produce a winner,
but to apportion delegates, which requires a complete list of
candidates, including write-ins, and the numbers of votes they
received, and assert that the Board has an obligation to comply with
the party's presidential primary plan to select delegates, which the
Board approved in 2003. The D.C. Statehood Green Party is
pursuing legal action. More at http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
MORE INFORMATION
Forward 2004! Green Party Presidential Convention
& Candidates
http://www.gp.org/convention/process.html
Media credentialing for the convention
http://www.gp.org/forms/media/
Green Party candidates and elections
http://www.gp.org/patience.html
Green Party ballot status and voter registration
totals http://web.greens.org/stats/
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
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