Larry Sharpe and Rich Purtell serve as petition stand-ins until the Libertarian National Convention.
Albany, New York – Since 1976, the New York Liberal Party has placed a presidential candidate on the statewide election ballot each presidential year. The new requirement is 45,000 valid petition signatures over a six-year period, according to Liberal Party of New York (LPNY) Leader Andrew Kolste. The one-week petition period from April 16th to May 28th will be difficult to meet. To qualify, the LPNY will need to field a “stand-in” temporary candidate, as the National Party will not nominate a candidate until the Libertarian National Convention is held in Washington, D.C., May 24-26.
The LPNY held a special nominating convention in March in Watkins Glen, New York, and selected Larry Sharp as the alternate presidential candidate for the statewide petition. Sharp was a gubernatorial candidate in 2018 and 2022. LPNY Second Vice Chairman Rich Purtell was chosen to replace the Vice President. Mr. Purtell has run as a Libertarian candidate several times.
LPNY Chairman Andrew Kolste said the independent agency in New York needed 45,000 petition signatures in six weeks, the most signatures needed in a single day in any state. . “Previously, we needed 15,000 signatures and were able to get them every time, but Governor Cuomo tripled that requirement in the ZZZ part of the 2020-2021 budget,” Korsti said. Stated. “We went through a three-year legal battle all the way to the Supreme Court, but they didn't accept our case.”
“The new requirements also set a precedent for 2022, marking the first time since 1946 that a New York governor had only two options,” Korsti said. “As long as strict ballot access requirements continue, New Yorkers will remain bound to two political parties, especially as Americans become increasingly dissatisfied with the two major parties and their respective candidates. We don't want to see that happen in the current situation.”
The state party is urgently recruiting petition volunteers, and voters are encouraged to sign petition pages to enable Libertarian Party challengers in this election, even if the names of these challengers are will not be clear until after the Libertarian National Convention.
For more information, please visit https://lpny.org/2024-petitioning-portal/.
You can find out more:
Liberal Party of New York: https://lpny.org/
