The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania - Forum

A long time ago I remember being told that votes in PA for Libertarian candidates help with both ballot access and voter registration (making Libertarian a valid option).  Is this still the case?  Does my vote for Bob Barr in PA have secondary benefits that help other Libertarian candidates?

The reason I ask is that I'm considering a vote trade with someone in a state that's already decided.  If all votes for Barr are equivalent, then I should do the trade to help influence this swing state.  If a vote for Barr does something else in PA, I want to know that.  I'm voting for him; the question is whether I do it in PA or elsewhere.

I have no idea what a "vote trade" is nor do I believe the outcome of an election in any state is decided until the votes are counted.

In Pennsylvania, any statewide candidate getting at least 2% of the votes cast in Pennsylvania for the highest vote getter of that particular statewide office can gain what is called "minor party" status for the political organization. Only votes cast in Pennsylvania count.

For example, if a candidate files nomination papers for governor with the political body name of Monster Raving Loony Party and gets more than 2% of the votes cast for the winner of the governor's race, the Monster Raving Loony Party would be considered a minor political party in Pennsylvania. Screaming Lord Such would have been proud.

A minor political party gets to have their party name printed on the voter registration forms so people only have to check the box to register with that party. Otherwise they have to check the "other" box and write in the party name. That is the benefit of gaining minor party status. The nomination forms are different as well, but the process is pretty much the same.

This will change if proposed legislation gets adopted. Minor political party status and voter registration will be VERY important and will make ballot access MUCH easier for minor parties.

Thanks for the explanation of minor-party status.

Do we currently have this status?  If so, voting here doesn't help; if not, it does.

A "vote trade" is where people in swing states agree to vote for the lesser of the two major evils in exchange for someone else voting for our candidate in a state where the race is already decided anyway.  So Barr still gets the same number of national votes, but that vote obviously didn't help with anything in PA.  (Yes, the arrangement relies on trust since there are no ballot receipts, at least in PA.  I've been approached by someone I trust.)

We are currently do not have minor-party status in PA.  I believe we loss it in 2004 with Badnarik.  So every vote counts to regain that status. 

I believe the minor Party status was lost in 2006 when the incredibly high signature requirement (67,070) meant no other parties could get statewide candidates on the ballot. Remember Carl Romanelli?

Stand corrected, how could i forget?