As Calpeek has previously discussed, there seems to be a lot of interest in starting new political parties in California. Last week, former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former Congressmember David Jolly, and former candidate Andrew Yang announced the formation of a party they’re calling the Forward Party. So far, the California Secretary of State has not announced that anyone is attempting to qualify the Forward Party in California.
We may not yet have a Forward Party, but others may be on the horizon. In April, we updated Peekers about the efforts to create new parties including the American Moderate Party, the Hogwash Party, the California Women’s Party, and the Common Sense Party. In July, a new effort was launched to qualify the Normal Party. There is not much information about the proposed party, but Calpeek looks forward to learning more.
In the previous Peek, we discussed how to qualify a new party in California. In short, it takes about 73,000 eligible voters to register with the party or about 1.3 million to sign petitions in support. The earliest any of these parties could place candidates on the ballot is 2024, so we’ll keep you posted.
Those standing around the water cooler, one might even be wearing an eye patch, would also like to know about the Pirate Party. Yes, there is a U.S. Pirate Party and, this year, it elected a member to the Arlington Town Council in Massachusetts. Arrr.