Libertarian Party of Alabama

Libertarian Party of Alabama

Abbreviation	LPA
Chairman	Samuel Bohler
Founded	1976; 48 years ago (1976)^[1]
Headquarters	P.O. Box 2375, Madison, AL 35758
Ideology	Libertarianism
Senate	0 / 35
House of Representatives	0 / 105
U.S. Senate	0 / 2
U.S. House of Representatives	0 / 7
Website
lpalabama.org
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The Libertarian Party of Alabama (LPA) is the Alabama affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). It is headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. Due to the high signature requirement to get onto the ballot and the requirement that a party run a statewide candidate that receives at least 20% in order to maintain ballot access the Libertarian Party of Alabama has rarely fielded candidates.

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History

Symbols previously used by the Libertarian Party of Alabama.

In 1976, the party began its first ballot access drive when it sent 50 volunteers to collect over 5,000 signatures from registered voters in order for its presidential candidate to appear on the ballot. In March the party sent over 5,000 signatures to the Secretary of State and it was later accepted giving Roger MacBride ballot access in Alabama.^[2]^[3]^[4]

In 1981, Steve Smith, the party coordinator, proposed at a meeting on election law reform that none of these candidates should be added to Alabama ballots, but was rejected.^[5] On June 19, 1982, the party held its state convention in Montgomery, which was attended by the party's 1980 presidential candidate Ed Clark and twenty five people, to nominate candidates and to discuss a new state ballot access law that would require third-party candidates to collect a certain percentage of voters rather than a set amount.^[6]^[7]

In 1983, multiple Libertarian candidates were denied ballot access due to the new requirements set by the ballot access law which increased the amount needed to gain ballot access from either receiving 10% in the previous general election to 20% or by collecting signatures from registered voters equal to the 1% of votes in the previous general election.^[8] The party made legal appeals to gain ballot access stating that they had gained ballot access under the previous law and that the current law couldn't be applied during the current election cycle, but their appeals were rejected.^[9]

In 1991, former Governor Fob James addressed the party's state convention.^[10] Nancy Lord, the party's vice presidential nominee, and Larry Pratt, president of the Gun Owners of America, both spoke at the 1992 state convention.^[11]

In 2000, after collecting over 60,000 signatures, the Libertarian Party of Alabama ran a small slate of candidates. Libertarian Candidate Sydney Al Smith garnered over 20% in a statewide race and in 2002, the Libertarian Party of Alabama was the first minor party to have achieved major party status in Alabama in over thirty years. In the next election cycle the Libertarian Party of Alabama ran 58 candidates ranging from governor to tax collector. Unable to garner over 20% in a statewide race, the Libertarian Party of Alabama lost its major party status and associated ballot access after 2002.

Since 2002, the Libertarian Party of Alabama has not been able to collect the nearly 60,000 raw signatures that would be required to regain statewide ballot access, but have been able to get ballot access for their presidential candidates as independents.

The party led efforts to defeat Amendment One, the tax increase plan proposed by Republican Governor Bob Riley. Alabama Libertarians were credited by talk radio host Russ Fine as "the leader in Internet activism" for their efforts in directing an online campaign against the tax plan. The Libertarian Party of Alabama hosted a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama between many of the key people and organizations opposing the ballot measure. Key personalities from the Tennessee Tax Revolt, Inc. shared their experiences from recent tax battles in the neighboring state. In attendance were representatives from the Eagle Forum, talk radio programs, Citizens for a Sound Economy, the Libertarian Party and local businessman Stan Pate. The primary result of this meeting was a coordinated coalition activity geared toward defeating the ballot measure. While the Alabama Republican Party eventually offered a weak disapproval of Riley's tax plan, the Libertarian Party of Alabama was the only political party to offer active resistance to the proposed tax hike. The measure was rejected by voters on September 9, 2003, with 68 percent opposed to it.

After gathering over 8,000 petitions, the party was granted ballot access in Jefferson County, the most populated county in Alabama.^{[citation needed]} Currently the LPA is seeking candidates for this county and collecting signatures for surrounding counties.

In 2019, the party filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State John Merrill for charging them $34,000 for a voter list while the Republican and Democratic parties are given the same list for free and on August 28 District Court Judge Emily C. Marks refused the state's request to dismiss the case.^[12]^[13]

Former officials

Jimmy Blake – Birmingham City councilor (1993–2001)^[14]

Electoral performance

Presidential

Year	Presidential nominee	Votes	Change
1976	Roger MacBride	1,481 (0.1%)
1980	Ed Clark	13,318 (1.0%)	0.9%
1984	David Bergland	9,504 (0.7%)	0.3%
1988	Ron Paul	8,460 (0.6%)	0.1%
1992	Andre Marrou	5,737 (0.3%)	0.2%
1996	Harry Browne	5,290 (0.3%)
2000	Harry Browne	5,893 (0.4%)	0.1%
2004	Michael Badnarik	3,529 (0.2%)	0.2%
2008	Bob Barr	4,991 (0.2%)	0.1%
2012	Gary Johnson	12,328 (0.6%)	0.4%
2016	Gary Johnson	44,467 (2.1%)	1.5%
2020	Jo Jorgensen	25,176 (1.1%)	1.0%

References

^ "Alabama Libertarian Party start date". The Anniston Star. 18 March 1984. p. 5. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertarian Party Seeks Position On State Ballot". Alabama Journal. 2 March 1976. p. 1. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Party Voters Checked". The Montgomery Advertiser. 3 March 1976. p. 2. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertians OK'd; Communists Nixed". Alabama Journal. 4 May 1976. p. 2. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "'None Of Above Is Acceptable'". Alabama Journal. 17 December 1981. p. 13. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Alabama Libertarians to hold '82 convention". The Montgomery Advertiser. 10 June 1982. p. 43. Archived from the original on 10 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertarians nominate state candidates". The Montgomery Advertiser. 20 June 1982. p. 5. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertarians Confused On Signature Numbers". Alabama Journal. 13 June 1983. p. 2. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertarian Party candidate denied slot on Nov. 8 ballot". The Anniston Star. 30 September 1983. p. 13. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Fob James 1991 Convention". The Montgomery Advertiser. 28 January 1991. p. 2. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Nancy Lord and Larry Pratt 1992 Convention". The Montgomery Advertiser. 24 February 1992. p. 2. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Libertarian Party sues John Merrill over $34,000 charge for voter list". AL.com. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019 – via AL.com.
^ "Libertarian Party v. Merrill". Casetext. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Casetext.
^ "Libertarian to join City Council". The Montgomery Advertiser. 3 November 1993. p. 18. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.