Green Party Denied Ballot Access

Dear Editor,

The North Carolina Green Party was denied ballot access by the State Board of Elections at its July 1 meeting, despite having submitted more than the 13,865 validated signatures state law requires. The news comes as a blow to any who value our democratic processes.

When I asked people to sign the petition to allow the Green Party on the ballot, many responded by saying, “Sure, the more the merrier” or “Democracy is about choice.”

Yet the three Democrats on the State Board of Elections wiped out the choice of over 16,000 voters who signed the petition, while the two Republicans favored following the state’s guidelines.

As is legally required, we assured petition signers we would not contact them, and their information was strictly to be submitted to the Board of Elections. In comes the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, who texted and robo-called our petition signers, including me, asking if I had signed, if I knew this will give the Republicans a huge advantage and if I would withdraw my signature. How is this legal?

That harassment may account for the 145 signers who asked to have their names removed. Others were removed because their information did not check out or was incomplete, but the Green Party still submitted more than 2,000 signatures over the requirement.

Why does the Democratic Party fear the Green Party’s two 2022 nominees, Matthew Hoh for US Senate and Michael Trudeau for State Senate District 16?  That fear doesn’t justify their violating state law and harassing petition signers, and a gut check would tell them they have been sliding deeper into Republican territory for the last six decades, leaving the Green Party to stand for every American with health care for all, protection of the environment and an end to poverty. Check out NC Green Party or Matthew Hoh for Senate and see what you think.

Green Party candidates should be on the ballot, not just write-ins, and Democrats should listen to the people, not corporations, and stop suppressing the voter choice they claim to stand for.

Anne Cassebaum

 

 

Not Firing Muzzleloaders In Greensboro

Dear Editor,

One good bass today, unfortunately though the battle flag on the USS Donald Trump was going to have to be raised. Fishing Buffalo Lake tonight around 6:30 p.m. I first heard gunfire close by on Cone Boulevard and just minutes later as the car headed North on North Elm Street. I heard gunfire again!

No reason to think they were firing at us, but we were well prepared had they done so. Certainly, they were just patriots celebrating the sacrifices of our freedom fighters on July 4th. Nothing changes in Greensboro, just another day of crime on the streets.

Don’t even suggest they might of been fireworks, as I have heard at least 5,000 rounds of gunshots in my life and know the sounds well. The only gun that even sounds close to fireworks is a muzzleloader, and most of the criminals in Greensboro don’t have the IQ to know how to fire a muzzleloader.

Jim Donaldson