AR: Libertarian Party Qualifies for Party Status

From Ballot Access News:

On June 16, the Arkansas Secretary of State determined that the Libertarian Party petition for party status has enough valid signatures. The party had submitted 16,000 to meet a requirement of 10,000. The validity rate was approximately 75%.

Before 1971, Arkansas did not require any petition for a party to become ballot-qualified. Since then, the other only parties that have ever successfully petitioned for party status in Arkansas have been the Reform Party in 1996, and the Green Party in 2006, 2008, and 2010 . . . 

Arkansas has a far easier ballot access procedure for parties that just want to be on the ballot for President. That petition only requires 1,000 signatures, and until today, that is the only petition that the Libertarian Party had ever used in Arkansas. Arkansas is the only state in which the Libertarian Party has never placed any nominees on the general election ballot, other than its presidential nominees. There are no statewide offices (other than President) up in Arkansas in 2012, but it is expected that the Libertarians will have candidates for U.S. House and state legislature.

AR: Libertarians File to Form State Party

From the Tolbert Report:

It looks like the Green Party  is going to get some company in the third party category as the Libertarian Party took one of the first steps in establishing themselves in Arkansas.  According to their press release, they submitted 16,139 signatures to the Secretary of State, well over of the required 10,000 amount.

AR: Democrat Lincoln Calls for Inclusive Debate

From the Arkansas Times blog:

This morning, Lincoln issued a press release, not only agreeing to a debate, but proposing the candidates sit down for four such occasions, one for each congressional district. Lincoln's campaign also reaches out to Independent candidate Trevor Drown and Green Party candidate John Gray.

AR: Independent Senate Candidate, Trevor Drown, Calls on States to Address Disenfranchisement of Military Voters

Background: J. Christian Adams writes at Pajamas Media:

the Pentagon announced that it had granted the waiver requests of five states seeking to escape requirements to protect military voters. I have written previously here at PJM that all waiver requests should be denied. Unfortunately, if you are an overseas servicemember from Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, or Washington, the protections in the MOVE Act aren’t going to apply to you this year.

Independent candidate for US Senate in Arkansas, Trevor Drown, is a former green beret who served in combat in Afghanistan. A release from the Drown campaign documents the potential for disenfranchisement of overseas military voters and calls on elected leaders at the state and federal level to act quickly in addressing this issue. From the Drown campaign, sent via email:

The Department of Justice waived the law exempting five states from complying with the requirement to mail absentee ballots to overseas military voters, 45 days before Election Day.

AR: Taxpayer Funded Group Refuses to Include Green and Independent Candidates for US Senate in Debate Forum

A press release from the Trevor Drown campaign:

The Association of Arkansas Counties, a taxpayer funded special interest group will hold a debate between Senator Blanche Lincoln and Congressman John Boozman at their taxpayer funded convention Friday morning. Despite emails and phone calls to the executive director and the members of the board, they refuse to allow the other two Senate Candidates participate. Supporters of independent candidate Trevor Drown and Green Party, Mayor John Gray will join in solidarity to protest this action to attempt to quell our 1st Amendment right. If you are able to go, please join us at the front entrance of the convention center on Friday, August 13th, 0830. Bring your signs of support and protest. Trevor made the following statement in reference to this event and the action of the AAC:

"I served this country in combat and thousands of Arkansans signed the petition to place me on the ballot. Now a tax-payer funded organization, which lobby's for elected county officials in Arkansas schedules a debate and closes it to two candidates; the Republican and the Democrat. Is this the American way? "

AR: Green Candidate for Sec. of State Drops Out of Race?

From Talk Business:

The race for Arkansas Secretary of State may have gotten a little less crowded.

David Orr, who was chosen as the Green Party of Arkansas nominee for Secretary of State, no longer appears on the slate of candidates, according to the party's web site.

An online web site called The Green Papers, which touts itself as a source for Green Party news, also has Orr's name scratched off its list of candidates.

AR: Times Record Profiles Drown and Gray, Independent and Green Party Candidates for US Senate

From the Times Record:

The political divide between Democratic U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln and her Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. John Boozman, is nothing compared to the gulf between the independent and Green Party candidates in the race, but the outsider candidates are united in at least one thing: their disillusionment with the two major parties.


Trevor Drown, a Russellville businessman and military veteran, announced as an independent candidate for Lincoln's senate seat last year. John Gray, a retired engineer and mayor of Greenland, was nominated July 24 as the Green Party of Arkansas' Senate nominee. The two were interviewed separately Friday for this report.

AR: Green Party Candidates in the News

From Green Party Watch:

After the Arkansas Green Party nominating convention on July 24th, Arkansas Green candidates have been appearing regularly in the news. Here are a few recent articles:
Arkansas News: Green Party candidate launches campaign for state treasurer
The Log Cabin Democrat: Conway man chosen to represent Green Party on November Ballot
KHBS-TV: Lincoln, Boozman face new candidate

AR: Green Slate Takes Shape

From Green Party Watch:

The Arkansas Green Party nominated several candidates at its state convention on July 24th. The candidates include two former state representatives, Jim Lendall for Governor and Bobby Tullis for Treasurer, as well as Rebekah Kennedy for Attorney General, who earned over 20% of the vote for US Senate in 2008. Here is the list of candidates after the convention . . .

AR: Libertarian Party Chair Sets Out Organizing Goals

From Rodger Paxton of the Arkansas Libertarian Party:

The most important thing for me at this moment is achieving ballot access in 2012. I think that taking care of the petitioning in 2011 will give us plenty of time to secure candidates and get our message spread far and wide . . . Without membership, we are not a party. Without membership, we can’t go anywhere. Without membership, we are dead. Our membership MUST grow. . . . As with membership, without money, we can’t do anything. We can’t achieve ballot access. We can’t support candidates. We can’t make a difference. We are not here to be a debate club. We are here to bring True Liberty to the People of Arkansas, and as chair, it is my duty to do that.

AR: Trevor Drown, Independent Candidate for US Senate to Speak at Memorial Day Demonstration

From a Drown campaign press release, via email:

Trevor Drown will be speaking  at Rolling Thunder(R), Inc.'s 23rd Annual Memorial Day Demonstration, May 28-30, 2010, in Washington, DC.

There are more than 90,000 Americans still listed as Missing in Action. Some of these are POWs believed to still be alive.  There are still many remains of Americans which have not been accounted for or have not been returned to American control. Of these, 19 Vietnam Veterans from the State of Arkansas are still listed as MIA. The number is even higher from World War II, including Trevor's great uncle.

From Trevor: "It is an honor to be able to address the American Patriots who will be attending this event. The concept of "Leave No Man Behind" is interwoven into the fabric of our American Military and heritage. What message do we send to future Americans if we have a forgotten generation?"

From the press announcement for the event:

Gen. Richard B. Myers, USAF (Ret.) will be the keynote speaker on May 30 during Rolling Thunder's 23rd annual Memorial Day weekend demonstration May 28-30, 2010,  in support of POW/MIA and veterans' issues. Gen. Myers was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2001 until his retirement in September 2005. 

As chairman, Gen. Myers was the United States military's highest ranking uniformed officer and in this capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President, Secretary of Defense, and National Security Council during the earliest stages of the War on Terror. Gen. Myers has participated in the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day events for several years, usually riding his motorcycle at the head of the motorcade that travels from the Pentagon to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool each year for the Sunday program.
Other speakers for the Sunday program include: 

•Rolling Thunder Executive Director Sgt. Artie Muller 

•Former Green Beret, Operation Enduring Freedom veteran and U.S. Senate candidate from Arkansas Trevor Drown 

•Veterans' activist and long-time Rolling Thunder supporter Nikki Mendocino
•Dolores Alfond, national chairperson, National Alliance of Families of POWs/MIAs
•Johnie E. Webb, deputy to the  commander for public relations and legislative affairs, •Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command  (JPAC)

AR: Libertarian Calls Party Executive Committee's Support for Republicans "Mistake"

From the AR Libertarian Party:

Arkansas has been dominated by the Democratic Party for more than a hundred years. The Republican Party is aggressively trying to become the dominant party in Arkansas. But, how is it to our advantage to side with the Republicans? If you’ve just opened a struggling Burger King franchise in a neighborhood, it is foolish to tell people to go to McDonald’s instead of your business. So, why would we want to do the equivalent? If the Libertarian Party is to grow in opposition to the two dominant parties, we must define ourselves as a reasonable alternative. But, what the Executive Committee has done is not in our interest because it blurs the distinction between us and the Republicans. It’s a self-defeating act for us to endorse Republicans. Yes, we agree with them on some issues, but there are many others where Libertarians and Republicans are miles apart.

Arkansas Libertarian Party Committee Member Shills for Careerist Republican Politician in US Senate Race

A post at the Arkansas Libertarian Party compares the candidacies of careerist Republican politician Jim Holt and independent conservative candidate Trevor Drown in Arkansas's race for US Senate; and, unfortunately, sides with the Republican on admittedly superficial grounds:

Drown, Holt, Lincoln, Root and Associates . . . None of them even comes close to the political caliber of Jim Holt . . . 

Jim Holt is a true, reasonably honest politician. Just like Boozman and Lincoln he can take a diverse group of people and make them his friends. You have never meet the others but if you ever get the privileged to “know” these people you would understand that even though you may not like everything they say or do they, just like Holt, can convince both atheists and liberals that having a particular born again Christian or whatever as THEIR united States Senator may not be so bad after all. And just like Holt those two have and are willing to take a stand on unpopular issues even if it means they loose a few votes. If citizens would spend an hour or so researching and reading the back story behind their public votes both of them might seem more like heroes then villains. Indeed given the same set of circumstances and depth of knowledge most of the people reading this personal opinion piece would probably end up marking their ballots the same way.

Trevor Drown may be a better person. He may even become a better politician but just like me he lacks that gift of gab or at least has yet to polish its style. That was plainly obvious when I heard him speak at the Second Amendment Rally. To his credit he is on the ballot but that is more the mechanics of hard work then it is voter appeal. With a crowd of several thousand or at a staged televised event whatever personal advantage he might have will get lost in the two dimensional translation. Bottom line: he aint quite ready for prime time. Yes in these strange times he might actually win but it is at best a long shot.

AR: Independent Trevor Drown Ballot-Certified for US Senate Race

From the Trevor Drown Campaign:

Yesterday we received official notification by the Secretary of State’s office that we received enough signatures and I am a certified candidate for US Senate for the November Ballot. We now wait to see who else will be selected. I would like to thank the people of Arkansas who made this happen. You can read the latest news here.

I have been asked to speak at the Rolling Thunder XXIII Memorial Day event in Washington DC at the end of the month. More information can be found here.

Once again, I would like to thank the more than 1,000 people of Arkansas who stepped up and gathered signatures as well as supported this effort. The primary election day is May 18 and although I will not be on the ballot, please vote. It is up to you if you want to vote for a Senate candidate, but there are so many other elected positions that need good leadership and your vote is needed. Be Safe and God Bless!

-Trevor Drown

AR: Independent Candidates Submit Petititons

From Arkansas News:

AR-Today at noon marked the deadline for those wishing to run for state and district offices as independent candidates to submit nominating petitions to the secretary of state’s office for verification. 23 individuals filed notices of candidacy to run as independent candidates. . .

AR: Constitution Party Begins Ballot Petition Drive

From Arkansas Watch:

the Constitution Party of Arkansas has begun a petition drive to get its candidates, including Mayor Frank Gilbert for Governor, on the ballot for the 2010 elections.  They do not intend to run candidates for federal offices. Their goal is my goal- fix Arkansas first. One of the main platform planks is to get Instant Runoff Voting in the state to eliminate forever the fear of "splitting the vote" pressuring people to continue to vote for a "lesser of two evils" candidate.  Last cycle 71% of state legislative races were unopposed in the general election.

AR: Libertarian Party Opposes Adoption Ban for Unmarried Couples

From the Arkansas LP:

The Arkansas Libertarian Party (ARLP) will celebrate the day when all Arkansans, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation, are able to enjoy full protection of their rights. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza has brought us closer to this day with a historic ruling. The ARLP fully supports Piazza’s decision to overturn Arkansas’ Unmarried Couple Adoption Ban (AUCAB) as it infringes on the right of privacy and is therefore unconstitutional. The ARLP also supports the decision by the Arkansas Department of Human Services to accept applications from unmarried couples who had previously been banned from serving as foster or adoptive parents.

AR: Greens Offer the Green in Ballot Access Petition Drive

From GPW:

In a message at their Facebook page, Green Change reported that the Arkansas Green Party is offering to pay $1 per signature to help them secure ballot status. They will also provide housing. Contact Mark Swaney to get involved. The Green Party nation wide needs the Arkansas Green Party on the ballot come November. Here’s Swaney’s contact info, taken from the state party website:  Mark Swaney (479-738-1077) — mswaney@madisoncounty.net

AR: Libertarian Reports on Impressions of Tax Day Tea Party

From Tom Carpenter at the Arkansas Libertarian Party:

I attended my first (and probably last) Tea Party event here in Hot Springs on April 15. As a libertarian who is committed to less government and more personal freedom, I have followed the growth of the Tea Party over the last year with some interest.  So, when a friend, who is a member of the local Tea Party, invited me to go along with him, I went in order to get a better sense of what this movement is all about.

Greens Make Ballot Access Push in AR, AZ, HI, TX

From Green Party Watch:

Several state Green Parties are collecting signatures to win ballot access for 2010 elections – and beyond! No matter where you are, there is some way to help fellow Greens win the recognition they need from their state governments. Please help any of the following states, and stay tuned for further news from other state parties.