Nothing says “democracy” like trying to purge your opponents from the ballot, right?
The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to recognize the Green Party as an official political party in the state.
The decision comes in the light of a wide-ranging legal campaign on the part of Democrats to prevent Green Party candidates from appearing on the November ballot.
The five-member state board, staffed by three Democrats and two Republicans, had earlier voted to deny the Green Party ballot access, according to The Associated Press. The board cited suspect signatures or incomplete voter information on the party’s petition, the AP reported.
The board announced its official recognition of the Green Party as a North Carolina political party on Monday.
This doesn’t guarantee the Green Party ballot access, but puts the lawyers of the party in a better position to defend the validity of Green Party nomination signatures.
A legal battle over Green Party ballot access in the state is ongoing. North Carolina is slated to print general election ballots on Aug. 12.
North Carolina Democrats immediately filed a lawsuit to reverse the state election board’s decision.
This lawsuit precedes the Green Party’s first hearing, schedule for Monday, where they will be fighting for a filing extension to the ballot-printing deadline in order to have a candidate placed on the November ballot, according to the AP.
Should the Green Party be allowed on the ballot?
Yes: 80% (4 Votes)
No: 20% (1 Votes)
The Green Party is seeking an extension to the deadline for printing ballots so it can get its candidates included. A Green Party candidate on the ballot for U.S. Senate could be crucial in a race that could swing the current Senate balance of power, which is tied at 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris has the tie-breaking vote, which gives Democrats control of the chamber.
The Green Party has fought against Democratic attempts to purge it from the ballot since the board shot down their petition in June.
National Democratic operatives have even gone so far as to show up at the front doors of voters who signed the Green Party’s ballot petition, urging them to retract their signatures, according to the AP.
Some of the Democrat operatives falsely identified themselves as Green Party representatives in the bid to tank ballot access signatures, according to witnesses who spoke to the AP.
Democrats have long been uncomfortable with the party’s ballot access and often claim that competing left-wing candidates harm Democratic political prospects in elections.
North Carolina isn’t the only state in which Democrats have interfered to keep the Greens off the ballot.
Democrats have waged legal warfare against Greens in states such as Texas and Wisconsin.
The backhanded attempt to deny Americans a chance to vote for an alternative to the Democratic establishment comes as the party’s officials tout a sanctimonious commitment to “democracy,” as they see it.
Perhaps the Jan. 6 Committee would benefit from a lecture in democratic values from the Green Party candidates whom Democratic hirelings are desperate to purge from elections.
