More than 30,000 North Carolina voters will soon lose their political party affiliation after top candidates for several political parties failed to receive enough votes in the 2024 elections.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced Thursday that voters once affiliated with the Constitution, Justice for All, No Labels, and We the People parties— about 34,000 in all — will become unaffiliated voters June 24.
The parties didn’t file petitions to keep their recognition, allowing their voters’ affiliation to expire ahead of municipal election candidate filing in July.
Unaffiliated voters can choose to vote in any recognized party’s primary election.
The Green Party will continue to be recognized by the state because the board determined with a 3-2 vote Thursday that the party’s presidential candidate was on the ballots of at least 70% of U.S. states, meeting a separate qualifying threshold stipulated in state law. The Green Party’s 4,035 registered voters would remain affiliated with the party.
The Green Party’s presidential candidate, Jill Stein, didn’t receive the required 2% of North Carolinians’ votes for their presidential or gubernatorial candidates in November, but the party filed a petition to maintain their ballot access under the other provision.
Green Party ‘gets across the threshold’
The law states that a party’s candidate must be nominated by the party’s voters to appear on the ballot in at least 70% of states, or 35 states. In 2024, Stein appeared on the ballot in 38 states, but she was the Green Party’s or an affiliate party’s nominee in only 31 of those states. The board was divided Thursday over whether to count the seven other states in which Stein appeared as an independent candidate, by ballot petition, or by the Kentucky Party, which had an unclear national affiliation.
Jeff Carmon, a Democratic member of the state elections board, said Thursday that he didn’t think the Green Party met the requirement in state law because Stein wasn’t nominated by the Green Party or an affiliate in 35 states. He disagreed with counting the other seven states.
“I have a problem with this method,” Carmon said.
But the board’s Republican majority sided with the Green Party’s petition and said continuing to recognize the party would give voters “more choices.”
Stacy Eggers IV, a Republican member of the board, said Stein “gets across the threshold. I don’t think it’s an incredibly clear threshold.”
He said Stein clearly campaigned as the Green Party’s national candidate, but for whatever reason, the party didn’t make it on some states’ ballots.
The Green Party is typically seen as appealing to many Democrat voters, potentially taking votes away from Democratic candidates.
The board’s two Democrats voted against continuing to recognize the Green Party, while the board’s three Republicans voted to keep doing so.
Four other parties lose status
The Constitution, Justice for All, No Labels, and We the People parties are no longer recognized as official parties in North Carolina because they failed to meet the thresholds required by state law. Specifically, candidates for these political parties failed to receive at least 2% of the total vote for governor or president last November.
The Justice For All Party’s presidential candidate, Cornel West, received 0.21% of the November vote in North Carolina. The Constitution Party’s candidate, Randall Terry, received 0.12%. The No Labels Party and We The People Party didn’t have candidates on North Carolina ballots in 2024. The Green Party’s candidate, Stein, received 0.43% of the vote.
In the race for governor, the Constitution Party’s candidate, Vinny Smith, received 0.98% of the vote. Justice for All, No Labels and We The People didn’t have candidates on North Carolina’s ballot. Green Party candidate Wayne Turner received 0.89% of the vote.
The parties can re-petition for recognition by summer 2027 to be recognized in the 2028 general election. That requires gathering about 14,000 signatures, including at least 200 from three different North Carolina congressional districts.
North Carolina now recognizes the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green parties.
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