Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania et al vs. Wolf et al
Opinion: U.S. Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (July 17, 2020)
Upheld: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (July 28, 2020)

__________________________

Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 16, 2020
CONTACT:
Garret Wassermann, Green Wave Team Lead
Chris Robinson, Communication Team

PA Green Party Fights Against Election Fraud

On July 14, the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of PA, ruled against the Green Party’s request for a temporary waiver of some ballot access requirements. The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) Steering Committee is calling for volunteers and launching a two-week flurry of petition activity to place Green candidates on the ballot. The Green Party had sought relief from the Court before the August 3 deadline for nominating petitions, but the Court ruled that granting relief during a deadly global pandemic would “seriously and irreparably harm the State.”
 
The Federal Court ruling was in response to a joint lawsuit from the GPPA, the Libertarian Party of PA and the Constitution Party of PA regarding the ballot access laws of the Commonwealth. The three plaintiff parties had filed to request a waiver of petitioning requirements this year in light of the COVID-19 emergency. Petitioning is a state requirement of all candidates who file to appear on the ballot. It involves collecting physical signatures from voters that live in the candidate’s district on a paper petition form. The plaintiffs argued that collecting physical signatures from voters is incompatible with accepted COVID-19 safety guidelines as well as the Governor’s own mandates and orders. They asked for a waiver this year in order to protect the public health and safety during a pandemic.
 
Lawyers representing the Wolf administration and the Democratic Party argued in court that the Governor’s stay at home orders and mandates did not apply to ballot access petitioning and that the GPPA should have been petitioning in public spaces even during the “red phase” of COVID-19 response. Unfortunately, Judge Edward G. Smith of the U.S. District for Eastern PA largely agreed with that assessment, determining that the risk from COVID-19 to volunteers and voters was only “intermediate,” and therefore the parties should be required to meet all typical ballot access requirements this year despite the pandemic.
 
“It feels like the governor is playing politics with our lives,” said Garret Wassermann, team lead for GPPA’s Green Wave committee and Green Party candidate for PA State Representative in District 45. “We should not need to put volunteers and the general public at risk just to get on the ballot. How is this democracy?”
 
“We can close schools, shut down businesses, move entire primary elections and switch to mail-in ballots due to COVID-19, but allowing more candidates into the November election would somehow irreparably harm the Commonwealth?” asked Timothy Runkle, Green Party candidate for PA State Treasurer. “According to the governor, the Democratic Party, and the courts, there's no potential harm in placing our volunteers door-to-door, face-to-face in the midst of a pandemic. The public's fears, concerns, and precautions are apparently not relevant.”
 
"In 2020, all across the U.S. we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic used as a voter suppression tactic from closing polling places to canceling elections. Here now is an even greater affront to democracy as the Wolf administration and a judge have decided to restrict Pennsylvania voters choices on the ballot. This decision by the Court amounts to legalized election fraud by the two ruling parties,” said Alan Smith, co-chair of GPPA. “Right now over 80 seats for the PA General Assembly, about 40 percent of the House and about 25 percent of the Senate, are running unopposed because of the measures in place to keep people off the ballot. What good is our vote if we don't get a say in who we get to vote for? Being able to be on the ballot is crucial for true democracy to take place."
 
GPPA is working with the Hawkins/Walker campaign, the 2020 Green Party nominees for president and vice president, to develop a strategy for meeting the ballot access requirements as safely as possible. The effort includes outfitting volunteers with face masks, gloves, and sanitizing equipment, as well as utilizing phone banking and other media methods to reach voters to let them know when a petitioner is in their area or how to mail a petition in to keep face-to-face contact to a minimum.
 
“We’ve never had to petition during a pandemic before, there is no roadmap or historical guide,” said Wassermann. “Other states have had their signature requirements reduced or even eliminated, or switched to electronic petitioning, but PA apparently does not believe in making any changes to protect public safety and democracy during a pandemic.”
 
Volunteers can request a petition from GPPA and sign up for canvassing at https://www.gpofpa.org/request_petition_by_mail. Questions can also be directed to Tim Runkle and the Green Wave committee at tim@lancastergreenparty.org, or your local Green Party. A list of Green Party locals is available at: https://www.gpofpa.org/counties. Donations toward petitioning costs, including COVID protective gear this year, are also welcomed at https://www.gpofpa.org/gw_donations. Volunteers can also sign up with the Hawkins/Walker campaign to help contact voters at https://howiehawkins.us/phone-banking-info/.
 
The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email contact@gpofpa.org.  Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.
 
END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania
July 14, 2020

PA Green Party Fights Against Election Fraud

On July 14, the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of PA, ruled against the Green Party’s request for a temporary waiver of some ballot access requirements. The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) Steering Committee is calling for volunteers and launching a two-week flurry of petition activity to place Green candidates on the ballot. The Green Party had sought relief from the Court before the August 3 deadline for nominating petitions, but the Court ruled that granting relief during a deadly global pandemic would “seriously and irreparably harm the State.”

The Federal Court ruling was in response to a joint lawsuit from the GPPA, the Libertarian Party of PA and the Constitution Party of PA regarding the ballot access laws of the Commonwealth. The three plaintiff parties had filed to request a waiver of petitioning requirements this year in light of the COVID-19 emergency. Petitioning is a state requirement of all candidates who file to appear on the ballot. It involves collecting physical signatures from voters that live in the candidate’s district on a paper petition form. The plaintiffs argued that collecting physical signatures from voters is incompatible with accepted COVID-19 safety guidelines as well as the Governor’s own mandates and orders. They asked for a waiver this year in order to protect the public health and safety during a pandemic.

Lawyers representing the Wolf administration and the Democratic Party argued in court that the Governor’s stay at home orders and mandates did not apply to ballot access petitioning and that the GPPA should have been petitioning in public spaces even during the “red phase” of COVID-19 response. Unfortunately, Judge Edward G. Smith of the U.S. District for Eastern PA largely agreed with that assessment, determining that the risk from COVID-19 to volunteers and voters was only “intermediate,” and therefore the parties should be required to meet all typical ballot access requirements this year despite the pandemic.

“It feels like the governor is playing politics with our lives,” said Garret Wassermann, team lead for GPPA’s Green Wave committee and Green Party candidate for PA State Representative in District 45. “We should not need to put volunteers and the general public at risk just to get on the ballot. How is this democracy?”

“We can close schools, shut down businesses, move entire primary elections and switch to mail-in ballots due to COVID-19, but allowing more candidates into the November election would somehow irreparably harm the Commonwealth?” asked Timothy Runkle, Green Party candidate for PA State Treasurer. “According to the governor, the Democratic Party, and the courts, there's no potential harm in placing our volunteers door-to-door, face-to-face in the midst of a pandemic. The public's fears, concerns, and precautions are apparently not relevant.”

"In 2020, all across the U.S. we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic used as a voter suppression tactic from closing polling places to canceling elections. Here now is an even greater affront to democracy as the Wolf administration and a judge have decided to restrict Pennsylvania voters choices on the ballot. This decision by the Court amounts to legalized election fraud by the two ruling parties,” said Alan Smith, co-chair of GPPA. “Right now over 80 seats for the PA General Assembly, about 40 percent of the House and about 25 percent of the Senate, are running unopposed because of the measures in place to keep people off the ballot. What good is our vote if we don't get a say in who we get to vote for? Being able to be on the ballot is crucial for true democracy to take place."

GPPA is working with the Hawkins/Walker campaign, the 2020 Green Party nominees for president and vice president, to develop a strategy for meeting the ballot access requirements as safely as possible. The effort includes outfitting volunteers with face masks, gloves, and sanitizing equipment, as well as utilizing phone banking and other media methods to reach voters to let them know when a petitioner is in their area or how to mail a petition in to keep face-to-face contact to a minimum.

“We’ve never had to petition during a pandemic before, there is no roadmap or historical guide,” said Wassermann. “Other states have had their signature requirements reduced or even eliminated, or switched to electronic petitioning, but PA apparently does not believe in making any changes to protect public safety and democracy during a pandemic.”

Volunteers can request a petition from GPPA and sign up for canvassing at https://www.gpofpa.org/request_petition_by_mail. Questions can also be directed to Tim Runkle and the Green Wave committee at tim@lancastergreenparty.org, or your local Green Party. A list of Green Party locals is available at: https://www.gpofpa.org/counties. Donations toward petitioning costs, including COVID protective gear this year, are also welcomed at https://www.gpofpa.org/gw_donations. Volunteers can also sign up with the Hawkins/Walker campaign to help contact voters at https://howiehawkins.us/phone-banking-info/.

The Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email contact@gpofpa.org.  Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.


Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 18, 2020
 
CONTACT: 
Chris Robinson, Communication Team

PA Green Party Seeks Federal Court Relief from Unconstitutional Election Requirements

On May 15, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) filed suit in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of PA, demanding relief from unconstitutional election laws which are impossible to meet under emergency COVID-19 measures declared by PA Governor Tom Wolf.
PA election rules require a minimum of 5,000 voter signatures for state-wide candidates to be awarded space on the ballot. This involves the effort of dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hours of labor to collect signatures in public before the early August deadline. Under Wolf’s stay-at-home order, volunteers will not be allowed to circulate in public, and there will be no public gatherings for them to attend.

Filing along with the Libertarian and the Constitution Parties of PA, the Green Party charged that the emergency conditions declared by Wolf will violate the First Amendment and the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The three political parties asked the court to allow access to the November 3 General Election ballot without the in-person signatures, because it will be nearly impossible or very unsafe to collect them.

"Completing the nominating process as presently required is now an improbable task given the circumstances that have been imposed by the Governor's order,” explained Tim Runkle, Green Party candidate for PA Treasurer. “These actions, although necessary to address the pandemic, are preventing candidates from obtaining access to the November ballot. Without relief from the court, not only will candidates be disenfranchised from seeking elected office, but the right of free and equal elections for the entire Commonwealth will also be violated."

COVID-19 has already killed more than 4,300 Pennsylvanians this year and infected many more. GPPA takes public health and safety seriously, and hopes for swift remedy by the courts and the Wolf administration to relieve the uncertainty regarding ballot access and to ensure Greens have the right to appear on the ballot. Therefore, the plaintiffs have asked the court to order the state to accept candidates’ nomination papers without the signatures.

"I think that COVID-19 has exposed many weaknesses in our political, economic, healthcare, and justice systems,” said Garret Wassermann, Green Party candidate for PA House District 45. “The voters deserve a real discussion and debate on what must be done to address those issues and rebuild. While Democratic and Republican candidates show little urgency, Greens offer real solutions. We are campaigning for single payer healthcare and a Green New Deal that will invest in our communities, address pollution and climate change, and create green infrastructure jobs as the COVID-19 crisis passes. I asked the court to recognize the extraordinary emergency circumstances we are under and to ensure Greens will be on the ballot on November 3."

The 2020 Green Party candidates are: Tim Runkle for PA Treasurer; Olivia Faison for PA Auditor General; and Richard L. Weiss, Esq., for PA Attorney General. Green Party legislative candidates are: Garret Wassermann for PA House District 45; and Jay Ting Walker for PA House District 23. More information about these declared GPPA candidates can be found at www.greenslate2020.org.

Registered voters may offer their support for the GPPA's proposed legal relief by signing the Green Party's online petition at: www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot. Contributions to the GPPA legal fund will be greatly appreciated in order to cover legal costs: www.gpofpa.org/legalThe Green Party of PA (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email contact@gpofpa.org
Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter
END ITEM      ***      END ITEM      ***      END ITEM

Green Party of Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 31, 2020

CONTACT:
Chris Robinson, Communication Team

PA Greens demand relief from candidate nomination procedures

PHILADELPHIA – On Monday, March 30, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee and statewide candidates demanded relief from the Pennsylvania candidate nomination procedures. In a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and legislative leaders, the Green Party asked that “the [nomination paper] signature requirement for the statewide ballot be waived or suspended for the current election cycle” for Green Party candidates in response to emergency circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

GPPA Secretary Beth Scroggin of Chester County said, "Many public and private events began to be canceled prior to official government action. The CDC has recommended public events be canceled and for isolation to remain in place for at least eight weeks. The duration of this quarantine could be much longer depending on how seriously the virus spreads. Governor Wolf has already issued several executive orders to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19. Under these circumstances, there is a strong possibility that the Green Party will be unable to harvest nomination signatures in any realistic manner during the legally mandated petitioning period."

GPPA Co-Chair Alan Smith of Chester County said, "Without relief from the nomination signature requirement, Green Party candidates may not be able to campaign for office or to appear on the General Election ballot on November 3. This extremely unusual situation would prohibit every voter in our Commonwealth from considering or voting for candidates who favor single payer healthcare, an end to mass incarceration, a Real Green New Deal and a universal basic income. Without the nomination of Green Party candidates, voters will be limited to the failed policies of the two corporate parties."

GPPA Treasurer Tim Runkle of Lancaster County explained, "Because of the circumstances inflicted upon us by the current pandemic, the Green Party respectfully request that the Governor and General Assembly order the PA Department of State to take immediate emergency action to honor the right of our political party and its statewide candidates for President, PA Attorney General, PA Auditor General and PA Treasurer to appear on the General Election ballot.

Registered voters in Pennsylvania can express their support for ensuring the Green Party is on the ballot by signing onto the letter as a citizen endorser. For more information, including the full letter and how to sign, please see https://www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot.

 

The Green Party of PA (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party's four pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email contact@gpofpa.org. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.

For further information, please see:
"Don't Let COVID-19 Keep Greens Off the Ballot," https://www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot.

____________________________

March 30, 2020

Request for Relief of Ballot Access Requirements Due to COVID-19

Dear Governor Tom Wolf, Lt. Governor John Fetterman, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan M. Marks, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, and State Government Committee chairs Rep. Garth Everett, Rep. Kevin Boyle, Sen. John Disanto, Sen. Anthony Williams:

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) has run statewide candidates for many election cycles and has petitioned to obtain ballot access successfully in recent years including 2016 and 2018. In preparation for the 2020 elections, GPPA formed the “Green Wave” Committee to coordinate volunteers, campaigns, and ballot access efforts across the state.

We are therefore confident we would be successful again and qualify for ballot access for all Green Party candidates in 2020 -- were it not for the urgent, severe threat posed by COVID-19 this year that has made typical petitioning operations impossible.

Many public and private events began to be canceled prior to official government action. The CDC has recommended cancelation of public events and for people to practice social distancing for as long as it takes to slow the spread of the virus. In response, Governor Wolf has issued several executive orders to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, including a two week “stay- at-home” order which affects Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties, the two counties where the majority of declared 2020 Green Party candidates live and are campaigning.

By law, the Green Party of Pennsylvania is required to obtain a minimum of 5,000 petition signatures from registered voters to ensure the Presidential candidate is on the ballot. Due to potential voter registration and other validity problems, in practice Green Party members must collect about double that number to ensure ballot access. This signature requirement as a result is much higher than the requirement for Democratic and Republican Party candidates, requiring Green Party members to potentially interact with tens of thousands of voters in order to collect the needed number of signatures. To offset the higher requirements, Greens are allocated by law a much longer period of time to collect signatures. In 2020, petitioning for Green candidates was set by law between February 19, 2020, and August 3, 2020, the final date to file.

However, shortly after the February 19 starting date, public and private events which Green Party volunteers rely on to meet voters and collect signatures began canceling. In early March, state and federal guidance began encouraging more widespread event cancellation and social distancing, resulting in Governor Wolf issuing a series of executing orders, including closing “non-essential” businesses by March 19. As a result, Green Party volunteers have had very little time to successfully petition, and given that the Pennsylvania Primary Election has been moved to June 2 and many legislators are even considering switching to a mail-in vote to continue social distancing, clearly the expectation is for COVID-19 action to continue into the summer. Under these circumstances, there is a strong possibility that the Green Party will be unable to petition in any realistic manner during the legally mandated petitioning period.

Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Governor and General Assembly order the Department of State to take account of these radically changed circumstances and take immediate emergency action to honor the right of our political party and its candidates for President, Vice President, and U.S. Senate to appear on the General Election ballot.

We ask that the petition signature requirement for the statewide ballot be waived or suspended for the current election cycle for the Green Party of Pennsylvania’s statewide candidates. We would be supportive of other political bodies and independent candidates also being granted a waiver.

We also ask for similar relief for all Green Party candidates planning to petition to attain ballot status for state-level races in the General Assembly.

We are happy to discuss the issue further and may be contacted via secretary@gpofpa.org. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sheri Miller & Alan Smith

GPPA Co-chairs

Garret Wassermann

GPPA Green Wave Team Lead & Candidate for Representative in the General Assembly, District 45

Beth Scroggin

GPPA Secretary & Ballot Access Coordinator

Constitution Party of Pennsylvania          
PRESS RELEASE; April 20, 2020

Constitution Party of Pennsylvania Requests Relief from Signature Requirement

     The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has formally requested that Governor Tom Wolf eliminate the requirement to petition and collect signatures to get candidates on the ballot for the 2020 Presidential election.  The request, sent to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Deputy Secretary for Elections, seeks to allow CPPA candidates on the ballot because of the restrictions placed upon social contact during the current COVID-19 situation.

     CPPA Chairman Bob Goodrich acknowledged that the Constitution Party is working with the Libertarian and Green Parties in this request.  These minor parties have the requirement to collect additional signatures to get candidates on the ballot.  Their efforts to collect signatures have been hampered by “social distancing” restrictions.

     Goodrich stated, “In order to place a Presidential candidate on the ballot, we need 5,000 valid signatures from registered Pennsylvania voters.  Because of the COVID-19 virus and our inability to collect signatures at the present time, we are really challenged with our ability to collect enough signatures to place our candidate on the ballot.”  Goodrich also noted that the CPPA, as a minor party, is required to collect more signatures than the major political parties.  “So, we have to collect more signatures and already we have gone through just about one half of the time to collect those signatures.  As Americans, we should have the right to vote for the candidate of our choice and history has demonstrated that it takes placing a candidate on the ballot to get votes.  As a member of the Constitution Party, we have ideas – and a platform – that we believe will move our country in the right direction.  Getting on the ballot is part of getting our message out.  Finally, as a former soldier, I value elections and the election process.  Our Pennsylvania Constitution states that ‘Elections shall be free and equal’ (Article I, Section 5), and how can they be equal if we don’t have the opportunity to get our candidate on the ballot?”
____________________________

Constitution Party of Pennsylvania           P.O. Box 1782, Lancaster, PA  17608

April 20, 2020


Dear Governor Tom Wolf, Lt. Governor John Fetterman, Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar, Deputy Secretary for Elections and Commissions Jonathan M. Marks, Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Turzai, and State Government Committee chairs Rep. Garth Everett, Rep. Kevin Boyle, Sen. John Disanto, Sen. Anthony Williams:


     The Constitution Party of Pennsylvania (CPPA) has run statewide candidates for many election cycles and has petitioned to obtain ballot access successfully in recent years including 2016 and 2018.  In preparation for the 2020 elections, CPPA has leaned forward in a commitment to have candidates on the ballot; work that we have done includes coordinating volunteers, as well as planning campaigns and ballot access efforts across the state.

     We are confident that we would be successful again and qualify for ballot access for Constitution Party candidates in 2020 -- were it not for the urgent, severe threat posed by COVID-19 this year that has made typical petitioning operations impossible.

   Many public and private events began to be canceled prior to official government action. The CDC has recommended cancelation of public events and for people to practice social distancing for as long as it takes to slow the spread of the virus.   In response, Governor Wolf has issued several executive orders to attempt to limit the spread of COVID-19, including “stay-at-home” orders which affect the Commonwealth’s largest population centers, where most of our signatures are collected.

     Currently, the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania is required to obtain a minimum of 5,000 petition signatures from registered voters to ensure the Presidential candidate is on the ballot.  Due to potential voter registration and other validity problems, in practice Constitution Party members must collect about double that number to ensure ballot access.  This signature requirement as a result is much higher than the requirement for Democratic and Republican Party candidates, requiring Constitution Party members to potentially interact with tens of thousands of voters in order to collect the needed number of signatures.  To offset the higher requirements, we are allocated a much longer period of time to collect signatures. In 2020, petitioning for Constitution Party candidates was set by law between February 19, 2020, and August 3, 2020, the final date to file.

     However, shortly after the February 19 starting date, public and private events which Constitution Party volunteers rely on to meet voters and collect signatures began canceling.  In early March, state and federal guidance began encouraging more widespread event cancellation and social distancing, resulting in Governor Wolf issuing a series of executing orders, including closing “non-essential”  businesses by March 19. As a result, Constitution Party volunteers have had very little time to successfully petition, and given that the Pennsylvania Primary Election has been moved to June 2 and many legislators are even considering switching to a mail-in vote to continue social distancing, clearly the expectation is for COVID-19 action to continue into the summer. Under these circumstances, there is a strong possibility that the Constitution Party will be unable to petition in any realistic manner during the legally mandated petitioning period.
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Governor and General Assembly order the Department of State to take account of these radically changed circumstances and take immediate emergency action to honor the right of our political party and its candidates for President, Vice President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives to appear on the General Election ballot.

     We ask that the petition signature requirement for the statewide ballot be waived or suspended for the current election cycle for the Constitution Party of Pennsylvania’s statewide candidates. We would be supportive of other political bodies and independent candidates also being granted a waiver.

     We also ask for similar relief for all Constitution Party candidates planning to petition to attain ballot status for state-level races in the General Assembly.

     We are happy to discuss the issue further and may be contacted via email at  HYPERLINK "mailto:chairman@constitutionpartypa.com" chairman@constitutionpartypa.com or  HYPERLINK "mailto:vicechairman@constitutionpartypa.com" vicechairman@constitutionpartypa.com, or via phone at (814) 258-5218.  Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,


A.R. (Bob) Goodrich
Chairman, Constitution Party of Pennsylvania