Mike Munger wants to be North Carolina's next governor.
But state ballot laws, which experts said are some of the strictest in the country, require that third parties-including Munger's Libertarian Party-collect 70,000 signatures in order to be included on the ballot. During the election, the party must then receive at least two percent of the vote, or it is knocked off the following election's ballot and must begin the petition process again.
So the Libertarians have teamed up with the state's Green Party to challenge current laws in a suit against the state.
Independent parties currently use their entire budget to collect signatures, said Munger, chair of Duke's political science department. He added that his party has spent nearly $200,000 and has yet to fulfill the petition's quota.
The laws are designed to avoid confusion and clutter on the ballot, said Jan Martell, co-chair of the North Carolina Green Party. Martell, however, added that voters need-and would not be confused by-more than two choices.
"It's extremely undemocratic to have a system that gives you choices that make you narrow your eyes, hold your nose and just pick one," she said.
In January, Judge Leon Stanback dismissed a plea for summary judgement. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in March.
If the Independents win, all of North Carolina's ballot laws would be struck down, Martell said. Legislators would likely appeal the decision and pass new laws with lower signature number requirements.
Although the Libertarian Party has met the petition's requirements in the past, the Green Party has never collected enough signatures to be placed on the ballot, Martell said.
Consistently having third parties on the ballot will dramatically change the political climate, said David Rohde, Ernestine Friedl professor of political science.
"Parties will either have to modify their position, or take the risk of defections," Rohde said.
For this reason, the Democrats are afraid of having the Green Party put on the ballot, Munger said.
"If the Greens get on the ballot, they'll take votes from Democrats," he said. "That's what this is about."
Although third parties have little in common in terms of political ideology, their members said they are willing to work together on the issue.
"We're teaming up with the Greens," said Brian Irving, press secretary for the North Carolina Libertarian Party. "It's a perfect example of the point of this lawsuit-we'd coalition with anyone to get this passed."
With the involvement of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the Green Party, Martell said Independents are confident about the expected outcome of the trial.
"We feel very strongly about this case," said Katy Parker, legal director of the North Carolina chapter of ACLU. "The increase in the number of Independents out there really highlights the general fatigue people are experiencing from having only two choices in this country. We hope to give them more."
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