Libertarians File Signatures as "New Party for 2022

 

Media Advisory:  Libertarian Party to Submit Petition for the 2022 Elections

June 24, 2021 - Little Rock, Arkansas

On Monday, June 28, the Libertarian Party of Arkansas will deliver a petition to the Secretary of State seeking to form a "new political party" for the 2022 elections.  This will be the sixth electoral cycle that the Libertarian Party has sought that status.

Members of the Libertarian Party will meet on the Capitol steps at 10:00 AM, with an opportunity for the press to interact with Libertarian Party leaders about plans for 2022.  The petition, with over 14,000 signatures, will then be delivered to the Elections Division of the Secretary of State's office.

The petition is being presented in the context of an ongoing federal lawsuit challenging the Arkansas legislature's 2019 action to make it more difficult for political parties to gain ballot access.  Under a court-ordered injunction and a stipulation agreed to by both sides in the lawsuit, the Libertarian Party is required to submit 10,000 valid signatures to become a political party for the 2022 elections. 

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Completely ridiculous that they have to submit petitions as a "new" party six cycles in a row when their candidate for US Senate got about the same percentage of the vote as now-President Joe Biden. To top it all off, they have to fight a lawsuit because the legislature recently passed a law almost tripling the number of signatures required for them to make the ballot - even though this change has already been ruled unconstitutional on more than one occasion.