Libertarian Party of California Voter Registration

Under California law, citizens may indicate their affiliation with a political party when they register to vote. Voter registration forms include a set of check boxes for "qualified" parties, as well as a space for writing in the name of a non-qualified party. Voters also have the option of not indicating an affiliation. The terminology for this has varied, with "Decline to State" having been used for much of the time since the LP has been active. The current term is "No Party Preference".

The specific implications of being a "qualified" party have varied over time as the system used for primary elections has changed. The Libertarin Party of California has been a qualified party since 1980, and the LP is often described as having "ballot access" in California, but this does not have the same meaning as in some other states. Except with respect to presidential elections, where qualified party status enables the LPC to place the LP's nominee on the November ballot, the LPC does not have the power to place any candidate on the ballot in either the primary or the general election. Under the current system, for all other offices for which a party label is allowed on the ballot, all candidates of any party, as well as candidates who want to run without a party label, must individually pay a substantial filing fee or circulate a petition with a significant number of signatures before their name appears on the ballot, and these requirements are the same regardless of party. Also, party status plays no part in elections at the county and lower levels -- all such elections in California are "non-partisan".

The main implications of registering with a political party under California's current election system are: (1) Only a candidate who is registered with a party may have that party's name listed by their name on the ballot. (2) This party affiliation information is maintained by each county, and is available for use by candidates and political committees (including the LPC and its local organizations) for use in campaigning, fundraising, and related activities. In addition, the LPC itself has a rule that for a member to have voting status with respect to internal party business, that peraon may not be registered with any other political party.

History

1979-1980: Initial Qualification

California election law provides two ways that a new party can become "qualified" -- by a petition or by getting people to affiliate with the party via registration. Since the number of signatures required for the petition method is ten times the registration requirement, new parties that have any aspiration to be a continuing force in the political system generally choose the latter option.

The LPC conducted a major registration drive beginning in 1979 to become a qualified party. Prior to this time, there were only a few thousand voters registered Libertarian in the entire state. Qualification was achieved in early 1980, enabling candidates to appear on the ballot with the label "Libertarian" for the first time that year.

1981-1999: Maintaining Qualified Status

California election law provides two ways that a party can retain "qualified" status -- by maintaining a certain level of registration or by at least one of its candidates for statewide office receiving at least 2% of the vote.

After the initial registration drive, the number of registered Libertarians quickly started falling and soon fell below the number required to maintain qualified party status. That the number would drop should not have been any surprise, considering that many of the people who registered (or re-registered) Libertarian only did so in response to the registration drive, and had no other connection with the LPC. During this period, the registration count required was calculated based on the number of votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election, so it changed every four years.

From 1982 to 1999, the Libertarian registration in California was continuously below this level, at times by a very large margin. And this was a constant concern of LPC activists at the state level, with proposals for, and from time to time actual action on, additional registration drives, though none were of anything close to the initial one. But fortunately during this time in every relevant election at least one Libertarian candidate for statewide office did manage to receive at least 2% of the vote, so qualified status was maintained during this entire period by that rule.

2000-present

Both because of continued growth in the number of registered Libertarians and because of a change in the law which reduced the number required, the LPC's retention of qualified party status by this measure is no longer an issue. As of 2019, the Libertarian voter count is many times the required number.