On Nov. 1, election officials announced that the Libertarian Party of Arkansas received enough petition signatures to appear on the 2014 ballot.
According to THV 11 News in Little Rock, this is the second time in Arkansas history that the Libertarian Party of Arkansas will be considered an officially recognized political party. More than 100,000 Arkansans cast their vote for a Libertarian candidate in 2012, but since Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson did not receive 3 percent of votes, the party was forced to re-petition for a spot on the 2014 ballot.
According to the Libertarian Party of Arkansas’ website, Libertarians advocate smaller government, lower taxes and more freedom.
LPAR Chairman Jessica Paxton, in a press release by the LPAR, said Arkansas Libertarians are happy with the results, but frustrated because, due to the petition process, the party’s “resources have been exhausted before campaigning even begins.”
A new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute suggested that 7 percent of Americans now identify themselves as Libertarians, and another 15 percent said they sympathize with Libertarian principles. Last week, in Virginia’s governor race, Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis pulled 6.5 percent of the vote – a substantial amount for a third party candidate – according to an article by the Daily Beast. A CNN exit poll indicated that a lot of Sarvis’ support came from young, white, educated voters.
“College students and young people are suffering enormous consequences because of the decisions made by previous generations of both parties,” junior Thomas Coffey said. “Between student debt, the national debt, health care reform and many other things, there is a trend of passing financial burdens down to the younger generation. This has caused distrust and dissatisfaction with the current system. Libertarianism often speaks directly to the problems of young people, and offers ways to deal with them over time.”
Steven Breezeel, associate professor of political science, said, despite the commotion about the Libertarian party, he does not think the party will ever be large enough to account for a reasonable threat to the two-party system.
Coupled with Congress’ approval rating at 9 percent, according to Gallup, Breezeel said much of the buzz about the Libertarian party is indicative of general discontent among voters. He said public polling shows growing dissatisfaction with both the Republicans and Democrats, which could lead to a partisan re-alignment.
“Familiarize (yourself) with what these parties stand for,” Breezeel said. “Then take a look and see how that understanding squares with (your) understanding of faith, because I firmly believe partisanship should follow faith, not lead it, and that it absolutely should not be independent of it. Try to avoid just reacting in frustration to politics, because politics (have) always been messy, and it’s always been a difficult process, and it’s always been kind of frustrating to watch, because you don’t win every time.”
The Libertarian Party of Arkansas said they are currently recruiting candidates to run next year and will hold a convention in Little Rock on Feb. 21-23. The Green Party of Arkansas was also cleared to appear on the 2014 ballot.
