The Iowa Civil Liberties Union has recently begun an effort to get the Green Party and National Libertarian Party added to Iowa voter registration forms.

The ICLU is suing to get the two parties added to the form, which currently only includes three options: Democrat, Republican or No Party.

“It’s kind of self interest of the two major parties,” said Ben Stone, executive director of ICLU, adding the Democrats and Republicans “benefit from the current system.”

He said the issue is about limitations of choice. A person should be able to register for whatever party he or she wants, Stone said.

Neither the Green nor the Libertarian party has received at least two percent of the vote in previous elections, keeping them from official party status. Only parties with official status are currently eligible to be on the form.

The Libertarians asked the American Civil Liberties Union to take the case, Stone said, and the executive board agreed unanimously.

From 2000 to 2002 the Green Party had official status as a result of Ralph Nader running in the presidential election.

The status was lost in the 2002 gubernatorial election, when no Green Party candidate ran. At the time they lost official status, they had 6,000 members across the state, Hart said.

Other than membership, Stone said having the parties added to the ballot will help their organizations.

With the current system, there is no way to find out how many people would consider themselves Green or Libertarian, which makes it difficult to invite people to party events or solicit donations, said Holly Hart, secretary and listserve with the Iowa Green Party.

She said the change could also help third parties be taken more seriously.

“It’s not just a Sierra Club or NRA. It’s a political party,” Hart said. “When people go to register to vote and see the three options, they think the Green Party isn’t here anymore.”

The ISU Libertarians support the suit, but is not working to further it, said Ian Guffy, treasurer for the ISU Libertarians.

“It’s not the ACLU’s job to promote us, but it’s great they’re working to help us,” said Guffy, junior in pre-computer science.

Guffy said he is registered No Party.

If the suit is successful, new Iowa voter registration forms would have to be printed and distributed, said Mary Mosiman, Story County auditor.

“We’d want to make sure we get the new forms everywhere. Right now, the forms are available in phone books, libraries and schools,” she said.

Printing new forms would not be difficult, Mosiman said.

“We have to print them anyway; we’d just insert the data. The financial burden is already there,” she said.

The Story County Auditor’s Office receives anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 voter registration forms each year, depending on the what elections are held that year.

Stone said, if successful the suit will set a precedent for other parties in Iowa.