Green Party Joins Coalition for Election-Law Fairness
Green Party of Michigan
www.migreens.org
July 1, 2007
For More Information
Ken Mathenia, Chair chair@migreens.org
John La Pietra, Media Cmte jalp@triton.net
LANSING -- Five of Michigans political parties have
joined together to establish the Michigan Third Parties Coalition (MTPC).
Saturday afternoon, representatives of the Green, US Taxpayers, Reform, Socialist, and Libertarian Parties met at
Finleys American Grill, and united to challenge election laws that unfairly favor Democrats and Republicans.
Spanning the political spectrum, the Michigan Third Parties
Coalition formed to advocate equal rights, in Michigan elections, for all political parties. MTPC contends that the present
two-party system is not simply a product of voters choices or
ideals. Rather, members say, it is an institutional arrangement maintained by major parties and special interests to prevent
competition.
Unless you are a Republican or a Democrat, Michigans elections
are neither free nor fair. Michigans other political parties hope to change that -- by working together to make it easier for
all Michigan voters to vote for the candidate they choose, says Libertarian Party of Michigan Chair Bill Hall.
Michigan third-party candidates say they face a media blackout.
This lie of omission is perpetrated through circular logic: were shut out of the debates, nominally because of low polling
numbers, then shut out of the polls because we werent in the debates, then shut out of the next debate because of low poll
numbers. Its difficult enough for voters to make intelligent decisions when you hear from all sides, let alone only two.
Michigans citizens deserve better, says Douglas Campbell of the Green Party of Michigan, who was arrested, beaten, and
jailed for attempting to participate in a candidates debate.
Socialist Party of Michigan Chair Matt Erard adds that voters
have a right to make informed decisions. Voters are robbed of that right when third parties are excluded from the coverage
and opportunities necessary to equally present their views to the voting public.
Jon Ettinger of the Reform Party of Michigan said, Of all of
the obstacles to third parties achieving fair and equal access in the Michigan electoral system, the greatest are the present
state election laws which prevent many third-party candidates from getting the opportunity to participate in Michigans
electoral process at all.
Gerald Van Sickle of the US Taxpayers Party of Michigan points
out that, Under the present Michigan election law, it is impossible for a new party to nominate any candidates for the
ballot without spending tens of thousands of dollars on a statewide ballot-access drive -- an often impossible task
without the corporate financial backing which the two major parties receive as access contributions.
In each election, third parties with ballot access face the
prospect of losing that access. Furthermore, the present voting system, which depends on primaries, compels people to
vote for one of the major-party candidates rather than their first choice -- or else waste their vote.
MTPCs member parties have diverse and divergent political
perspectives, but they have agreed on these core objectives:
Amending Michigans ballot-access laws to give all state
parties a chance to have their candidates listed on the ballot.
Allowing candidates affiliated with non-ballot-qualified
third parties to list a party label on the ballot once they have qualified to appear on the ballot as independents.
Michigan is among a minority of states that does not allow this.
Establishing Instant Run-Off Voting (IRV) in Michigan
elections. IRV is a system that would allow voters to rank their preferences and drop the least popular candidates until
one candidate has a majority. In addition to being a far more democratic system of voting than the winner-take-all system
currently in place, IRV could replace primaries, and would eliminate the spoiler effect that discourages some from
voting for third-party candidates.
Coverage of all candidates by the media. The parties
jointly advocate the importance of including third-party candidates in
the media, and of raising the issue to the media and the general public whenever third-party candidates
are systematically ignored in election coverage.
Fighting the exclusion of third-party candidates from
debates.
MTPC has a website at www.michiganthirdpartiescoalition.org
And is organizing a series of events and campaigns.
Green Party of Michigan
548 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
www.migreens.org
734-663-3555