Members of the Green Party work daily recruiting candidates, educating voters, lobbying their local and state governments, serving on local boards and city councils, and lately, challenging obstructive and unequal election and campaigning laws in court.  Below is a round-up of some the latest legal moves and victories won by state Green Parties across the country.  Your support of the Green Party on all levels is vital if we are going to continue to work for better election laws and candidate recruitment.ArkansasThe Green Party of Arkansas, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the Secretary of State of Arkansas.  Even though the party elected a member to the state legislature and won more than 20% in several federal races, the state has moved to decertify the party for lack of support.  The lawsuit states that the “state’s decertification statute violates rights guaranteed to [the Green Party of Arkansas] by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution”.Mark Swaney, Coordinator of the Green Party of Arkansas, emphasized the importance of ballot access for the Green Party in Democrat-dominated Arkansas, noting that “we are quite literally fighting for freedom and democracy against a conservative Democratic party machine that can, and usually does, see to it that the people of Arkansas have no say whatsoever on election day”.New MexicoIn May of this year, the New Mexico Green party filed suit against the state, which had ceased recognizing the Green Party as a qualified political party.  The GPNM’s lawsuit claims, among other points, that “The State has no justifiable interest in limiting voter choices to the candidates of the major [Republican and Democratic] parties,” that the state has “no constitutional authority to limit the time available for minor party candidates to obtain petition signatures for the office of U.S. Representative,” and that state law “Unconstitutionally discriminates in favor of major parties and against minor parties in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution”.PennsylvaniaThe Green Party of Pennsylvania joined with the Constitution and Libertarian Parties of Pennsylvania to file a lawsuit challenging several aspects of election law.  According to Ballot Access News, the lawsuit challenges “Pennsylvania’s unique system of charging candidates and parties for the costs of checking their petitions…It also challenges the careless way in which some counties count write-ins and others don’t, and the arbitrary manner in which the state tallies write-ins for some candidates and not others, and finally it challenges the requirement that a party have approximately 1,000,000 registered voters before it can be on the November ballot without having to petition for its nominees.”This lawsuit is a result of Carl Romanelli’s disqualification from the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania’s 2006 election.  After turning in many thousands of signatures to win access to the ballot, his petition was rejected and he was charged $85,000 by the state for attempting to qualify to run for public office. Carl Romanelli has continued to try to convince the court to drop this fee, last filing a new petition with the court in August of this year.The hearing for the Green Party’s follow-up lawsuit is scheduled for later this month.FloridaThe Florida Green Party is uncovering a case of potential abuse of the political system through a lawsuit to uncover the backgrounds of the “Florida Five”.  In 2008, five registered members of the Florida Green Party filed to run for state legislature, despite being unknown to the Green Party.  Suspecting that these mystery candidates were acting in coordination with the Republican Party, Florida Greens filed lawsuits to probe the campaign finance records of the mystery candidates, in order to trace the source of their filing fees.Earlier this month, the court began calling the five mystery candidates to depositions to begin piecing together the background behind their campaigns.  With the court’s help, the Florida Green Party continues to probe the events of the 2008 elections and seek the truth about the candidates that appeared on the Green Party ballot line.Connecticut  The Connecticut Green Party recently won a significant decision against Connecticut’s public campaign finance system, which the court ruled was unfairly awarding public finances to major party candidates while burdening the Green Party and other parties with inordinate obstacles to public funds.A U.S. District Court judge ruled that Connecticut’s public financing scheme had  created a “discriminatory burden” for minor parties and had unfairly inflated the public campaign funds that major parties were awarded.  “We’re very pleased”, said Mike DeRosa, co-chair of the Connecticut Green Party, that “the court ruled that real campaign finance reform requires a level playing field.”The Green Party of the United States and our state Green Parties need your support to continue working to level the playing field in court.  We don’t take money from real estate companies, private health insurance providers, or lobbyists.  In fact, we don’t take ANY corporate money because we think corporate money in politics is wrong.  If you want to help us work for fairer elections, please help us today.  Your donation to the Green Party will help us make sure we have a strong Green Party today and into the future.

You can help us reach the goal we set in July at our national meeting of funding our operations with the help of 500 sustainers giving $10,000 a month by the end of 2009.  Click here to become a sustaining donor to the Green Party today!Your gift of any amount will help to strengthen our voice so that we can make our vision a reality.  With your help we can provide support for candidates and spread the Green message.  If you have given recently, please consider giving more.  And, if you haven’t given in some time, please make today the day you give.Email: gpinfo@gp.org

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Wednesday, September 30, 2009Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders, activists, and members across the US plan to participate in mass rallies, marches, coordinated local and regional demonstrations, and other forms of protest to take place on and around Saturday, October 17 calling for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.The National Assembly to End the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars (https://www.natassembly.org/Home_Page.html) is coordinating the nationwide mid-October protests. October 2009 marks the eighth year of the US war in Afghanistan and seven years since Congress passed a resolution authorizing an invasion of Iraq.”While a majority of Democrats and Republicans in Congress lined up behind President Bush’s call for an invasion of Iraq based on a litany of deceptions, the Green Party opposed and protested the war from the beginning. The election of Barack Obama in 2008 brought no real change — America is still waging war against Afghanistan and Iraq, with attacks on Pakistan and threats to attack Iran,” said Rosa Clemente, the Green Party’s 2008 nominee for Vice President, Hip Hop activist, journalist, and community organizer (http://www.rosaclemente.com).”The Green Party continues to challenge the monopoly on power held by the two parties of war — the Democratic and Republican parties. We also challenge the delusion that led so many people who opposed the war to vote for Mr. Obama and other warhawk Democrats. The only hope for an end to America’s policies of military aggression remains the emergence of a real peace party — the Green Party,” added Ms. Clemente, who is about to embark on a 14-state speaking tour.October also commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Vietnam Moratorium that brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to protest the war.Greens in New England will gather at an antiwar rally and march planned for Boston on October 17, beginning at 1:00 pm in Copley Square. The Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party is one of the sponsors of the event.On Monday, October 5, Greens will participate in an antiwar protest at the White House organized by members of the War Resisters League and Witness Against Torture (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=130411491731&index=1).”The war in Iraq was not a ‘good’ war, neither is the war in Afghanistan,” said Green peace activist Paul ‘zool’ Zulkowitz.The Green Party demands:Immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all US troops, military personnel, bases, contractors, and mercenaries from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.An immediate end to all US support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the ongoing siege against Gaza and the Palestinian people.An end to sanctions, threats of war, and attacks against Iran, North Korea, Somalia, or any other nation, whose right to self-determination is under assault by Washington’s aggressive drive for hegemony. We strongly oppose interference in the internal affairs of these countries, as well as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and any other nation targeted by the US government for political destabilization.Investigation and prosecution of war crimes, including torture, with an assurance that all such crimes never happen again.A lopsided vote by the US House of Representatives (368-60) on May 14, 2009 approved the Obama Administration’s request for $97 billion for US military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The US Senate’s follow-up vote on June 18, 2009 approved, by a 91-5 majority, $105.9 billion for the same purpose, showing bipartisan support for continuation of the wars and occupations. According to Green Party leaders, these votes underscore why an independent, unified, mass action antiwar movement is needed now more than ever.The Green Party supports without equivocation the right of all oppressed nations and peoples to self-determination, whether in the Middle East or in other parts of the world, such as Haiti.Greens stand in solidarity with working people, their unions and allies, and demand that the trillions spent on wars and the military be diverted to support for homeowners, the opening of plants to create new green jobs instead of seeing them shut down, and maintaining and expanding urgently needed social programsMORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesSummer 2009 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

Grayson deserves a Green Party tip of the hat for his willingness to stand by the truth.From CNN:WASHINGTON (CNN) – Freshman U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson refused to back down Wednesday from remarks made on the House floor the night before, in which he said the Republican health care plan calls for sick people to “die quickly.”

In fact, Grayson, a Democrat who represents a central Florida swing district that includes Orlando, made another floor speech in which he apologized to the dead and their families for not acting sooner on health care reform. He then defended both speeches on CNN’s “The Situation Room.”

“What I mean is they have got no plan,” Grayson told Wolf Blitzer. “It’s been 24 hours since I said that. Where is the Republican plan? We’re all waiting to see something that will take care of the pre-existing conditions, to take care of the 40 million Americans who have no coverage at all.

“That’s what I meant when I said that the Republican plan is don’t get sick. And if you do get sick, die quickly.”  

Grayson said he decided to deliver his after-hours speech Tuesday after the Harvard study was released and he realized “we cannot go on any longer in this country where people cannot afford health care, where the coverage they got is good until they need it.