They’re back.
The North Carolina Green Party has collected 14,404 valid signatures on its petition to be an official party in North Carolina. That is just over the 13,865 valid signatures they needed to get by the June 1 deadline.
The Greens gain two benefits from being an official party. First, they can nominate candidates for elected office. People will also be able to register to vote as party members.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (SBE) decertified the Greens and the Constitution Party in January of 2021 and removed their members from voter rolls the following June.
Greens Have Until July 1 to Choose Nominees
The SBE will likely recertify the Green Party at their June 9 meeting. The party will then have until July 1 to hold a nominating convention, per North Carolina General Stature 163-98.
The Constitution Party has only submitted 2,887 valid signatures.
The political impact of having the Greens back on the ballot will likely be minimal. The last time they were on the ballot, they were well behind the Libertarians in both the number of candidates they nominated and the public support of those candidates. There is little reason to believe that Green Party 2.0 will be any more successful.
