This week, “The People’s Party” gained ballot access in Florida, making it the first state in which the party has achieved ballot status. The Party says that getting on the ballot will further help it challenge the corporate electoral duopoly upheld by the Republicans and Democrats in Florida, and eventually, around the country.
“The efforts of what is now the Florida People’s Party, and the National People’s Party, in getting this done have been monumental,” People’s Party State Chair Victor Nieto wrote in a press release. “Our voters will now have a choice to vote for a party that represents the interests of the people and not those of the billionaire rulers of this country.”
Nieto noted that the Florida People’s Party is ramping up efforts toward voter registration drives and running future candidates in the Sunshine State.
The Party is currently working to achieve ballot access in every state across the country, noting its first ballot access in Florida as a milestone toward a new party free of corporate ties.
“Floridians will soon be able to vote for corporate-free candidates who will fight for health care, housing, good-paying jobs, and college as human rights,” said People’s Party National Chair, Nick Brana. “This is the first state of many in a national movement to raise the floor in this country.”
The Party points out that a nationwide shift in voter registration has occurred over the last decade, with tens of millions fleeing the Democratic and Republican parties to file as independent or unaffiliated.
A recent Gallup poll shows that a record number of Americans, two out of every three, want a major new party.
In Florida, nearly a third of voters are not registered as Democrat or Republican, with nearly 3.8 million voters registered as non-party affiliated according to the Florida Division of Elections.
People’s Party leaders remarked that the changes in voter registration and sentiment showcase major shifts in the public’s confidence in the ability of the Democratic and Republican parties to represent them.
Zeynab Day, executive director for the People’s Party, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that Americans have been trained for a long time to think in the binary when it comes to electoral politics.
“But lately, there’s been a huge outcry for change, and corrupt corporate politics play a big role in that,” Day told CL. “We think that it’s time to stop spending our taxpayer money on endless wars and corporate welfare. Instead, we should concentrate on treating people in our country with human decency, which is outlined in our platform.”
The Party’s current platform is similar to that of Bernie Sander’s 2016 platform, calling for Medicare for All and a Federal Jobs guarantee. The party also calls for guaranteed housing for all, rapid paths to citizenship for migrants and the defunding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Here in Florida, the Party is calling on people to join it in being the first state in the U.S. to make real electoral change.
“The Florida People’s Party champions the issues that matter to the people of this state and country,” said Florida Vice Chair Carolyn Wolfe. “We are asking fellow Floridians to join us and be a part of history.”
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