For Immediate Release:
PRESS RELEASE: The Libertarian Party of Iowa (LPIA), alongside co-plaintiff, Jake Porter, has filed suit in federal court to defend independent and third party ballot access rights
During the 2019 legislative session, multiple bills and amendments threatened the ability of independent and third party candidates to gain ballot access by increasing signature requirements, reducing candidate filing periods and increasing costs to purchase public voter data. The Iowa legislature attempted to deprive Iowa voters of choice at the ballot box and to legally enshrine two party rule.
It is our opinion that these laws sought to reduce competition and to benefit the party establishment of both major parties by limiting voter turnout and reducing the number of independent candidates. These bills would do nothing protect the rights of Iowans, they restricted choice. The LPIA holds that these proposals were illegitimate and unconstitutional.
While the most egregious of these measures were removed before being passed into law, Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law HR692. which sets third party and independent candidate to major party primary election filing deadlines. Elections Libertarian and independents cannot participate in, reducing our filing period by five months. The LPIA strongly believes this violates our 1st and 14th Amendment rights by holding us to a deadline for a primary elections we cannot participate in and adding unnecessary hurdles to our right to petition our government by filing candidates.
The LPIA therefore seeks a legal remedy to cure these violations of our rights and calls on the courts to defend the liberty of independent voters and candidates. Attached below is the full complaint with details of our case:
In 2018 the Libertarian Party had a record number of votes cast for Libertarian candidates and ran a record number of candidates. Nearly a dozen Libertarians are currently elected to county and city non-partisan offices and the party is concentrating on electing Libertarians to additional local offices in 2019. The Libertarian Party of Iowa has over 14,000 registered members and is the fastest growing political organization in Iowa.
For more information about The Libertarian Party of Iowa, including photos to use in your publication, please contact us or visit: Lpia.org
