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57-756: The Legal Marijuana Now Party (LMN) is a political third party in the United States. The party's platform includes abolishing the Drug Enforcement Administration and legalizing hemp and marijuana . As of 2024, the party has ballot access in Minnesota and Nebraska . The Legal Marijuana Now Party was established in Minnesota in 1998 to oppose marijuana prohibition . In 1996, the Grassroots Party of Minnesota split, with some former members forming

114-535: A Republican primary in 2010, Bill Walker of Alaska won a single term in 2013 as an independent by joining forces with the Democratic nominee. In 1998, wrestler Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket. Sometimes a national officeholder that is not a member of any party is elected. Previously, Senator Lisa Murkowski won re-election in 2010 as a write-in candidate after losing

171-573: A candidate-based PR system, has only rarely been used to elect more than 21 in a single contest. Some PR systems use at-large pooling or regional pooling in conjunction with single-member districts (such as the New Zealand MMP and the Scottish additional member system ). Other PR systems use at-large pooling in conjunction with multi-member districts ( Scandinavian countries ). Pooling is used to allocate leveling seats (top-up) to compensate for

228-471: A few list-PR systems). A country-wide pooling of votes to elect more than a hundred members is used in Angola, for example. Where PR is desired at the municipal level, a city-wide at-large districting is sometimes used, to allow as large a district magnitude as possible. For large districts, party-list PR is often used, but even when list PR is used, districts sometimes contain fewer than 40 or 50 members. STV,

285-939: A few rare elections where a minor party was competitive with the major parties, occasionally replacing one of the major parties in the 19th century. The winner take all system for presidential elections and the single-seat plurality voting system for Congressional elections have over time helped establish the two-party system (see Duverger's law ). Although third-party candidates rarely win elections, they can have an effect on them through vote splitting and other impacts. Greens, Libertarians, and others have elected state legislators and local officials. The Socialist Party elected hundreds of local officials in 169 cities in 33 states by 1912, including Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; New Haven, Connecticut ; Reading, Pennsylvania ; and Schenectady, New York . There have been governors elected as independents , and from such parties as Progressive, Reform, Farmer-Labor, Populist, and Prohibition. After losing

342-597: A leadership Head Council, which consists of Legal Marijuana Now Party members with at least three consecutive years participation in the party and officers elected by the members at an annual convention held in June. Krystal Gabel , of Nebraska, was appointed to national Legal Marijuana Now Party chairperson in 2021 through 2023. Rudy Reyes became party chairperson in 2024. Political party strength in Iowa Note : Political parties are those organizations that received 2% or more of

399-475: A number of seats roughly based on its population size (see degressive proportionality ) and in each member state, the election must also be held using a PR system (with proportional results based on vote share). The most widely used families of PR electoral systems are party-list PR, used in 85 countries; mixed-member PR (MMP), used in 7 countries; and the single transferable vote (STV), used in Ireland, Malta,

456-496: A presidential race was George Wallace in 1968 , while the last third-party candidate to finish runner-up or greater was former president Teddy Roosevelt 's 2nd-place finish on the Bull Moose Party ticket in 1912 . The only three U.S. presidents without a major party affiliation upon election were George Washington , John Tyler , and Andrew Johnson , and only Washington served his entire tenure as an independent. Neither of

513-399: A statewide Nebraska candidate running outside the two major parties in 86 years, when independent George Norris was reelected to U.S. Senate, in 1936. Bolinger was one of the top three third party vote-getters in the United States in 2022. In 2016, Legal Marijuana Now placed their presidential candidates, Dan Vacek and Mark Elworth , on the ballot in two states, Iowa and Minnesota, and as

570-660: A statewide computerized network jointly maintained by the Office of the Secretary of State and county recorders allows the public to file and search Uniform Commercial Code and tax lien records throughout the state. Hand in hand with business registration and the safekeeping of government records, the secretary of state also administers the open appointments process for state agencies and Safe at Home, Minnesota's address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other types of crime. Moreover,

627-533: A subsequent election. After 1968 , under President Nixon the Republican Party adopted a " Southern Strategy " to win the support of conservative Democrats opposed to the Civil Rights Movement and resulting legislation and to combat local third parties. This can be seen as a response to the popularity of segregationist candidate George Wallace who gained 13.5% of the popular vote in the 1968 election for

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684-406: A third-party candidate receives help from supporters of another candidate hoping they play a spoiler role. Nationally, ballot access laws require candidates to pay registration fees and provide signatures if a party has not garnered a certain percentage of votes in previous elections. In recent presidential elections, Ross Perot appeared on all 50 state ballots as an independent in 1992 and

741-469: A third-party that underperforms its poll numbers with voters wanting to make sure their vote helps determine the winner. In response, some third-party candidates express ambivalence about which major party they prefer and their possible role as spoiler or deny the possibility. The US presidential elections most consistently cited as having been spoiled by third-party candidates are 1844 , 2000 , and 2016 . This phenomenon becomes more controversial when

798-574: A write-in candidate nationwide. Rudy Reyes was nominated by the Legal Marijuana Now Party, in 2020, to run for Vice-president of the United States , but the campaign was postponed until 2024. The Legal Marijuana Now Party's platform centers around marijuana legalization , including hemp legalization. The party has advocated legalizing the home cultivation of marijuana and expunging past cannabis convictions. It has also advocated broader anti- drug prohibition policies including abolishing

855-417: Is at odds with its traditional party, it has the option of running sympathetic candidates in primaries . Candidates failing in the primary may form or join a third party. Because of the difficulties third parties face in gaining any representation, third parties tend to exist to promote a specific issue or personality. Often, the intent is to force national public attention on such an issue. Then, one or both of

912-455: Is elected by the people on Election Day in November, and takes office on the first Monday of the next January. There is no limit to the number of terms a secretary of state may hold. To be elected secretary of state, a person must be qualified voter, permanently resident in the state of Minnesota at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 21 years of age. In the event of a vacancy in

969-569: Is independent, populist, or any other that either rejects left–right politics or does not have a party platform. This section includes any party that has a left-liberal, progressive, social democratic, democratic socialist, or Marxist platform. This section includes parties that primarily advocate for granting special privileges or consideration to members of a certain race, ethnic group, religion etc. Also included in this category are various parties found in and confined to Native American reservations , almost all of which are solely devoted to

1026-484: Is not considered to make an electoral system "proportional" the way the term is usually used. For example, the US House of Representatives has 435 members, who each represent a roughly equal number of people; each state is allocated a number of members in accordance with its population size (aside from a minimum single seat that even the smallest state receives), thus producing equal representation by population. But members of

1083-642: The Australian Senate , and Indian Rajya Sabha . Proportional representation systems are used at all levels of government and are also used for elections to non-governmental bodies, such as corporate boards . All PR systems require multi-member election contests, meaning votes are pooled to elect multiple representatives at once. Pooling may be done in various multi-member voting districts (in STV and most list-PR systems) or in single countrywide – a so called at-large  – district (in only

1140-885: The District of Columbia . As of February 2024, RCV is used for local elections in 45 US cities including Salt Lake City and Seattle . It has also been used by some state political parties in party-run primaries and nominating conventions. As a contingency in the case of a runoff election , ranked ballots are used by overseas voters in six states. Condorcet methods Positional voting Cardinal voting Quota-remainder methods Approval-based committees Fractional social choice Semi-proportional representation By ballot type Pathological response Strategic voting Paradoxes of majority rule Positive results Proportional representation (PR) refers to any type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in

1197-523: The Drug Enforcement Administration and banning employee drug testing. The party defines its platform as the United States Bill of Rights in its constitution. Grassroots organizations are associated with bottom-up rather than top-down decision making. The Legal Marijuana Now Party seeks to engage ordinary people in political discourse to the greatest extent possible. All decisions on important organizational and financial subjects must be reached by

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1254-842: The Independent Grassroots Party . By 1998, members of the Independent Grassroots Party formed the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now! Party . In the 2010s the party began expansion attempts to other states, gaining presidential election ballot access in Iowa for the 2016 election by petition. The party continues expansion in the 2020s, gaining ballot access in Nebraska as the Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party in 2021. The Minnesota Grassroots Party

1311-663: The National Union ticket in 1864; it was a temporary name for the Republican Party. Electoral fusion in the United States is an arrangement where two or more United States political parties on a ballot list the same candidate , allowing that candidate to receive votes on multiple party lines in the same election. Electoral fusion is also known as fusion voting, cross endorsement, multiple party nomination, multi-party nomination, plural nomination, and ballot freedom. Ranked-choice voting (RCV) can refer to one of several ranked voting methods used in some cities and states in

1368-543: The Nebraska Democratic Party recruited. Larry Bolinger was nominated by Legal Marijuana NOW to run for Nebraska Attorney General in 2022. Bolinger, who previously had run for a seat on the Alliance Planning Commission , focused his campaign on legalization of marijuana and expanding drug courts . In the 2022 race, Bolinger received 188,648 votes, more than 30 percent, the highest percentage for

1425-634: The Nebraska Secretary of State . However, the Secretary of State said that half of the signatures were invalid, verifying only 4,353 signatures and falling short of the 5,397 needed. After failing to make it onto Nebraska ballots in 2016, the party began circulating petitions for 2020 ballot access for a Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party in September, 2016. The party planned to collect 15,000 signatures for their second attempt at gaining ballot access. In 2014, Dan Vacek ran for Minnesota Attorney General as

1482-450: The 2020 general election in Minnesota found that Legal Marijuana Now candidates might have helped DFL candidates in swing districts, by pulling a larger number of votes from Republican candidates. Paula Overby was nominated by Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party, in 2022, to run for U.S. Representative from the 2nd congressional district. Overby, an information technology director, had previously been nominated by Legal Marijuana Now for

1539-597: The 2nd district, in 2020, after candidate Adam Weeks' untimely death. Overby's platform included marijuana legalization and universal Medicare. On October 5, 2022, Overby died during recovery in a hospital following emergency surgery for a heart valve condition. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon stated that Overby's name would remain on the ballot, and the election would go ahead as scheduled. Without remedy for replacing their deceased nominee, under state law, Legal Marijuana Now Party encouraged supporters to cast their votes for Overby. The dead candidate won 10,728 votes in

1596-621: The American Independent Party. In 1996 , both the Democrats and the Republicans agreed to deficit reduction on the back of Ross Perot's popularity in the 1992 election . This severely undermined Perot's campaign in the 1996 election. However, changing positions can be costly for a major party. For example, in the US 2000 Presidential election Magee predicts that Gore shifted his positions to

1653-558: The House are elected in single-member districts generally through first-past-the-post elections : a single-winner contest does not produce proportional representation as it has only one winner. Conversely, the representation achieved under PR electoral systems is typically proportional to a district's population size (seats per set amount of population), votes cast (votes per winner), and party vote share (in party-based systems such as party-list PR ). The European Parliament gives each member state

1710-507: The Legal Marijuana Now Party." And then every vote we get will be a referendum. Every vote we get will be indisputable evidence that there’s a voter that wants legal marijuana. The Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party petitioned to be recognized as a major political party. To make the ballot, Legal Marijuana NOW Party needed valid signatures equal to at least one-percent of the total votes cast for governor in 2014, or 5,397 signatures statewide. In July, 2016, volunteers turned in 9,000 signatures to

1767-467: The Legal Marijuana Now candidate and got 57,604 votes, qualifying the party to be officially recognized and to receive public funding from the state. Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now nominated candidates by petition to appear on the ballot for the November 6, 2018 election. Their candidate for State Auditor , Michael Ford, received 5.3% of the vote qualifying the party to be an official major party in

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1824-534: The Republican primary to a Tea party candidate, and Senator Joe Lieberman ran and won reelection to the Senate as an "Independent Democrat" in 2006 after losing the Democratic primary. As of 2024, there are only four U.S. senators, Angus King , Bernie Sanders , Kyrsten Sinema , and Joe Manchin , who identify as Independent and all caucus with the Democrats. The last time a third-party candidate carried any states in

1881-406: The Republicans. Micah Sifry argues that despite years of discontentment with the two major parties in the United States, third parties should try to arise organically at the local level in places where ranked-choice voting and other more democratic systems can build momentum, rather than starting with the presidency, a proposition incredibly unlikely to succeed. Strategic voting often leads to

1938-674: The United States. The term is not strictly defined, but most often refers to instant-runoff voting (IRV) or single transferable vote (STV), the main difference being whether only one winner or multiple winners are elected. At the federal and state level, instant runoff voting is used for congressional and presidential elections in Maine ; state, congressional, and presidential general elections in Alaska ; and special congressional elections in Hawaii . Starting in 2025, it will also be used for all elections in

1995-558: The candidate of the Reform Party in 1996. Perot, a billionaire, was able to provide significant funds for his campaigns. Patrick Buchanan appeared on all 50 state ballots in the 2000 election, largely on the basis of Perot's performance as the Reform Party's candidate four years prior. The Libertarian Party has appeared on the ballot in at least 46 states in every election since 1980 , except for 1984 when David Bergland gained access in only 36 states. In 1980, 1992, 1996, 2016, and 2020

2052-510: The context of voting systems, PR means that each representative in an assembly is elected by a roughly equal number of voters. In the common case of electoral systems that only allow a choice of parties, the seats are allocated in proportion to the vote tally or vote share each party receives. The term proportional representation may be used to mean fair representation by population as applied to states, regions, etc. However, representation being proportional with respect solely to population size

2109-522: The debates in which they appeared. Debates in other state and federal elections often exclude independent and third-party candidates, and the Supreme Court has upheld this practice in several cases. The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a private company. The Free & Equal Elections Foundation hosts various debates and forums with third-party candidates during presidential elections. They can draw attention to issues that may be ignored by

2166-431: The disproportional results produced in single-member districts using FPTP or to increase the fairness produced in multi-member districts using list PR. PR systems that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to use as general pooling as possible (typically country-wide) or districts with large numbers of seats. In winner-take-all (or plurality voting) , the candidate with the largest number of votes wins, even if

2223-504: The elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions ( political parties ) among voters. The essence of such systems is that all votes cast – or almost all votes cast – contribute to the result and are effectively used to help elect someone. Under other election systems, a bare plurality or a scant majority are all that are used to elect candidates. PR systems provide balanced representation to different factions, reflecting how votes are cast. In

2280-617: The enrolled laws of the Legislature , executive orders, commissions and proclamations issued by the governor , state agency rules, official oaths and bonds of state officials, and miscellaneous municipal boundary records. In connection with this role, the secretary of state also processes notary public applications and registers a variety of business associations , including corporations , cooperatives , limited liability companies , limited liability partnerships , limited partnerships , assumed business names , and trademarks . Additionally,

2337-559: The furthering of the tribes to which the reservations were assigned. An example of a particularly powerful tribal nationalist party is the Seneca Party that operates on the Seneca Nation of New York 's reservations. This section includes parties that primarily advocate for Independence from the United States . (Specific party platforms may range from left wing to right wing). Minnesota Secretary of State The secretary of state

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2394-714: The left to account for Nader, which lost him some valuable centrist voters to Bush. In cases with an extreme minor candidate, not changing positions can help to reframe the more competitive candidate as moderate, helping to attract the most valuable swing voters from their top competitor while losing some voters on the extreme to the less competitive minor candidate. of New York State Freedom Party This section includes only parties that have actually run candidates under their name in recent years. This section includes any party that advocates positions associated with American conservatism , including both Old Right and New Right ideologies. This section includes any party that

2451-484: The major parties may rise to commit for or against the matter at hand, or at least weigh in. H. Ross Perot eventually founded a third party, the Reform Party , to support his 1996 campaign. In 1912 , Theodore Roosevelt made a spirited run for the presidency on the Progressive Party ticket, but he never made any efforts to help Progressive congressional candidates in 1914, and in the 1916 election , he supported

2508-421: The majority parties. If such an issue finds acceptance with the voters, one or more of the major parties may adopt the issue into its own party platform . A third-party candidate will sometimes strike a chord with a section of voters in a particular election, bringing an issue to national prominence and amount a significant proportion of the popular vote. Major parties often respond to this by adopting this issue in

2565-469: The margin of victory is extremely narrow or the proportion of votes received is not a majority. Unlike in proportional representation , runners-up do not gain representation in a first-past-the-post system . In the United States, systems of proportional representation are uncommon, especially above the local level and are entirely absent at the national level (even though states like Maine have introduced systems like ranked-choice voting , which ensures that

2622-532: The office of the secretary of state, the governor may appoint a successor to serve the balance of the term. The secretary of state may also be recalled by the voters or removed from office through an impeachment trial . The secretary of state is keeper of the Great Seal as prescribed by the Minnesota Constitution. As such, the secretary of state files, certifies, and preserves in his or her office

2679-458: The other two were ever elected president in their own right, both being vice presidents who ascended to office upon the death of the president, and both became independents because they were unpopular with their parties. John Tyler was elected on the Whig ticket in 1840 with William Henry Harrison , but was expelled by his own party. Johnson was the running mate for Abraham Lincoln , who was reelected on

2736-704: The party made the ballot in all 50 states and D.C. The Green Party gained access to 44 state ballots in 2000 but only 27 in 2004. The Constitution Party appeared on 42 state ballots in 2004. Ralph Nader, running as an independent in 2004, appeared on 34 state ballots. In 2008 , Nader appeared on 45 state ballots and the D.C. ballot. Presidential debates between the nominees of the two major parties first occurred in 1960 , then after three cycles without debates, resumed in 1976 . Third party or independent candidates have been in debates in only two cycles. Ronald Reagan and John Anderson debated in 1980, but incumbent President Carter refused to appear with Anderson, and Anderson

2793-445: The presidency since the Republican Party became the second major party in 1856 . Since then a third-party candidate won states in five elections: 1892 , 1912 , 1924 , 1948 , and 1968 . 1992 was the last time a third-party candidate won over 5% of the vote and placed second in any state. With few exceptions, the U.S. system has two major parties which have won, on average, 98% of all state and federal seats. There have only been

2850-482: The race. Scholars have credited the work of Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now! with motivating the state Democratic Party to prioritize cannabis legalization, in 2023. On April 21, 2021, Legal Marijuana NOW gained official recognition as a state political party in Nebraska, earning the party ballot access for their candidates, and allowing Legal Marijuana NOW Party to register voters. Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party ran more candidates for statewide offices, in 2022, than

2907-475: The secretary of state annually publishes the Minnesota Legislative Manual , a compendium of federal, state, and local government information. Perhaps the most visible and significant duty of the Secretary of State, however, is the administration of Minnesota's election laws. The secretary of state is Minnesota's chief election officer and as such canvasses and certifies election returns and operates

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2964-543: The state. This gave Legal Marijuana Now candidates ballot access without having to petition. In 2020, the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now candidate for United States Senator received 190,154 votes, more than any other such third-party candidate in the U.S. During the 2020 election campaign, Democratic Party leaders said that the Legal Marijuana Now Party made it harder for Democratic candidates to win in Minnesota. A St. Cloud Times analysis of votes cast in

3021-649: The statewide voter registration system, among other election administration duties. Aside from these functional responsibilities, the secretary of state chairs the State Canvassing Board and is an ex officio member of the Executive Council , the State Board of Investment, and the governing board for the Minnesota Historical Society. The office of secretary of state has existed since before

3078-537: The voice of third party voters is heard in case none of the candidates receives a majority of preferences). In Presidential elections, the majority requirement of the Electoral College , and the Constitutional provision for the House of Representatives to decide the election if no candidate receives a majority, serves as a further disincentive to third party candidacies. In the United States, if an interest group

3135-555: The vote for president or governor in the most recent general election. Third party (United States) Third party , or minor party , is a term used in the United States' two-party system for political parties other than the Republican and Democratic parties. Third parties are most often encountered in presidential nominations. Third party vote splitting exceeded a president's margin of victory in three elections: 1844 , 2000 , and 2016 . No third-party candidate has won

3192-847: Was excluded from the subsequent debate between Reagan and Carter. Independent Ross Perot was included in all three of the debates with Republican George H. W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992, largely at the behest of the Bush campaign. His participation helped Perot climb from 7% before the debates to 19% on Election Day. Perot did not participate in the 1996 debates. In 2000 , revised debate access rules made it even harder for third-party candidates to gain access by stipulating that, besides being on enough state ballots to win an Electoral College majority, debate participants must clear 15% in pre-debate opinion polls. This rule has been in effect since 2000. The 15% criterion, had it been in place, would have prevented Anderson and Perot from participating in

3249-425: Was formed in 1986 as a response to Ronald Reagan 's War on Drugs . In 1996 the party split, with some former members forming the Independent Grassroots Party for one election cycle. In 1998, members of the Independent Grassroots Party formed the Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now political party. The party's name, according to Yippie Oliver Steinberg , a Grassroots Party founder, is attributed Dan Vacek saying "call it

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