Two New Political Parties Turn in Signatures to Make November Ballot
by John Gage
(Picture credit Secretary of State’s office)
The “Nebraska Working People Party” and the “America First Party” both turned in signatures to make the November ballot. The Secretary of State’s office confirmed with The Plains Sentinel that the “Nebraska Working People Party” had turned in 8,000-12,000 signatures on Tuesday, while a spokesperson for the “America First Party” said Wednesday that they had turned in over 15,500 signatures.
Petitioners for a new party are required to get “signatures totaling not less than one percent of the total votes cast for Governor at the most recent general election,” which is just under 7,000 signatures.
The “Nebraska Working People Party” filed paperwork to make the ballot late last month, headed by registered Democrat and failed legislative candidate Robin Richards.
Richards has rebuffed multiple attempts by The Plains Sentinel to be interviewed.
Nebraska Democrats have accused the party of being a plant by Republicans, an accusation that has caused finger-pointing among partisans. Following Richards’ filing, John Cartier, a longtime progressive activist, filed to form the “America First Party.”
Cartier said that he was forming the party because “people are angry and tired of the bulls—.”
He told The Plains Sentinel on Wednesday that the party was still figuring out which candidates would be on the ballot this fall, but said that he would not be one of them.
Regardless, he said the party’s successful signature drive proves Nebraska is ready for change.
“Nebraskans are sick of political corruption. They are hungry for more options,” Cartier said. “The more than 15,000 signatures we are submitting today are evidence of that.”
The deadline to file signatures for a new party is July 15.
Partisan Finger-Pointing
The attempted launch of two new parties has caused both Republicans and Democrats to accuse each other of trying to add additional “plant” candidates to the ballot in order to siphon off votes, particularly in the heated U.S. Senate race.
Nebraska Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb published a video over the weekend that purported to show a petitioner for the “Nebraska Working People Party” saying that their “boss” mostly works for conservative causes. The petitioner did not say who was funding the petition, but said it was an out of state group.
In a recording obtained by The Plains Sentinel, a petitioner said that U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn was behind the “America First Party.”
“I don’t really know who’s paying, like how they’re paying or what—who’s where’s it coming from—but I know it is to aid the cause of Dan Osborn to help get someone new into the office,” the petitioner said. “Because you know, Pete Ricketts overturns things that the people want, and it’s really just to get a new face that actually listens to the people.”
Osborn has denied having any involvement with the party.
The fight over new parties follows what some national observers deemed the “weirdest” primary race in America where both the Osborn and the Ricketts’ campaigns accused each other of putting plant candidates on the ballot in the Democratic and Legal Marijuana Now party primaries.
This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.