Libertarian Party Scores Major Ballot Access Wins Ahead of 2018

There is big news for the Libertarian Party: It can add one more state where it has official party status and ballot access for the 2018 midterms.

Ballot Access News reported Monday that the LP’s petition for party status was validated by the Arkansas secretary of state on July 7. This means the Libertarian Party has ballot access in 39 states, plus the District of Columbia for some or all races in the midterm elections.

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The 11 states where the LP does not have ballot access: Alabama, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.

The state made significant gains following the 2016 presidential election thanks in large part to the record-high voter turnout for its presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, and his running mate, Bill Weld. Over 4 million voters cast a libertarian vote in 2016. According to a previous report on IVN, that quadrupled the party’s previous turnout high.