Libertarian party deemed official party in Iowa
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate meets with voter registration volunteers, as part of National Voter Registration day, Sept. 27 in the UDCC. After briefly talking about the events of last night’s presidential debate, Pate talked with the volunteers about the importance of voting, and the power a voter has.
March 2, 2017
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced that the Libertarian Party is now considered an official political party in Iowa.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 59,186 votes, about 3.8 percent of the total votes cast, during the 2016 presidential election. In Iowa, a party that obtains more than 2 percent of the vote is considered official.
“I would like to congratulate the Libertarian Party of Iowa on being recognized as an official political party by the state,” Pate said. “I encourage all Iowans to become and remain active in the political process.”
There are currently 9,100 registered Libertarians in Iowa. This status allows the Libertarian Party to be a part of the primary elections.
The party will lose its status if any future Libertarian candidates for president or governor don’t receive at least 2 percent of the votes cast in general elections.
The Green Party received this status, which was eventually cancelled, in 2002 after its presidential nominee, Ralph Nader, received 2.2 percent of the total votes cast.
