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June 2020 Working toward a future where people and planet are valued, and our government represents all of us. GPPA seeks Federal Court relief from unconstitutional
election requirements
PHILADELPHIA – On May 15, the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) filed suit in the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of PA, demanding relief from unconstitutional election laws that are impossible to meet under emergency COVID-19 measures declared by PA Governor Tom Wolf. PA election rules require a minimum of 5,000 voter signatures for state-wide candidates to be awarded space on the ballot. This involves the effort of dozens of volunteers and hundreds of hours of labor to collect signatures in public before the early August deadline. Under Wolf’s stay-at-home order, volunteers will not be allowed to circulate in public, and there will be no public gatherings for them to attend. Filing along with the Libertarian and the Constitution Parties of PA, the Green Party charged that the emergency conditions declared by Wolf will violate the First Amendment and the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The three political parties asked the court to allow access to the November 3 General Election ballot without the in-person signatures, because it will be nearly impossible or very unsafe to collect them. "Completing the nominating process as presently required is now an improbable task given the circumstances that have been imposed by the Governor's order,” explained Tim Runkle, Green Party candidate for PA Treasurer. “These actions, although necessary to address the pandemic, are preventing candidates from obtaining access to the November ballot. Without relief from the court, not only will candidates be disenfranchised from seeking elected office, but the right of free and equal elections for the entire Commonwealth will also be violated." COVID-19 has already killed more than 4,300 Pennsylvanians this year and infected many more. GPPA takes public health and safety seriously, and hopes for swift remedy by the courts and the Wolf administration to relieve the uncertainty regarding ballot access and to ensure Greens have the right to appear on the ballot. Therefore, the plaintiffs have asked the court to order the state to accept candidates’ nomination papers without the signatures. "I think that COVID-19 has exposed many weaknesses in our political, economic, healthcare, and justice systems,” said Garret Wassermann, Green Party candidate for PA House District 45. “The voters deserve a real discussion and debate on what must be done to address those issues and rebuild. While Democratic and Republican candidates show little urgency, Greens offer real solutions. We are campaigning for single-payer healthcare and a Green New Deal that will invest in our communities, address pollution and climate change, and create green infrastructure jobs as the COVID-19 crisis passes. I asked the court to recognize the extraordinary emergency circumstances we are under and to ensure Greens will be on the ballot on November 3." The 2020 Green Party candidates
are: Green Party legislative candidates
are: More information about these declared GPPA candidates can be found at www.greenslate2020.org Registered voters may offer their support for the GPPA's proposed legal relief by signing the Green Party's online petition at: www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot Contributions to the GPPA legal fund will be greatly appreciated in order to cover legal costs. The Green Party of PA (GPPA) is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa.org or email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook and Twitter.
GPPA News Highlightsedited by Chris Robinson
Allegheny County Jail Must Reduce Spread of Covid-19 by Ron Gavalik.
Green Party pushing to keep Turnpike payments for transit Transit advocates in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are leading a coalition of more than three dozen groups trying to pressure Harrisburg officials to continue $450 million annual payments from the PA Turnpike for public transit. Pittsburghers for Public Transit and the Philly Transit Riders Union say eliminating the turnpike payments before the state finds another source of transit funding would be devastating to transit agencies across the state. They have collected signatures from groups ranging from unions representing transit workers to the Green Party of Allegheny County and Philly Neighborhood Networks. (show all)
Hawkins Wins PA Presidential Caucus
Campaign Updatesedited by Chris Robinson
Garret Wassermann for PA
Representative, District 45
Jay Ting Walker for PA
Representative, District 23
Three State-wide Green Party
Candidates
Team UpdatesFinance Team by Tim Runkle
GreenWave Team by Garret Wassermann
To join the Green Wave Team and get invited to future organizing calls, please visit HERE to receive call info or email for more information!
Communications Team by Chris Robinson
Core Team by Charles Sherrouse
National Green Newsedited by Gayle Morrow US GREENS Last month we spoke of the difficulty of 3rd parties to get their candidates on the ballot due to restrictive election law in New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois. As if that isn’t enough of a problem for our Democracy, now Greens and others are not meeting their ballot access petition signature requirements due to the COVI-19 concerns.
However, the state of Illinois that we spoke of last month passing restrictive election law requirements for third parties is now under District Court order to lighten up on the ballot access signature requirements. /capitolfax.com/2020/04/22/federal-judge-hands-greens-libertarians-some-win
Pennsylvania twice appealed by letter to Governor Tom Wolfe, at this writing, to no avail. https://www.gpofpa.org/dont_let_covid_19_keep_greens_off_the_ballot
The age-old question that must be answered by all third party candidates, especially the Greens who get blamed when the Democrats lose an election. “President Donald Trump won Pennsylvania for several reasons in 2016, and the number of potential Democratic voters who instead cast their ballots for Green Party candidate Jill Stein over Hillary Clinton was one in a whole playbook of things that went right for Trump and wrong for Democrats.” Note: ”…one in a whole playbook
The pandemic is keeping third parties off the ballot with those pesky petition signature requirements in many important states, restricting voter choice while bringing total duopoly closer. “At present, neither the Libertarian Party nor the Green Party has qualified for the ballot in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa or Minnesota.”
Global Green Newsedited by Gayle Morrow
Let’s talk about Ireland.
Greens push FF and FG to come out against fracked gas terminals that will import American fracked gas into Ireland. “Actor Mark Ruffalo, Environmental Groups Welcome Statement Against New Fracked Gas LNG Terminals That Would Import US Fracked Gas Into Ireland”(show all)
Green Party lays out 17 demands for entering coalition negotiations. (show all)
News Release regarding progress of the talks with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Imagine, political parties actually talking to each other and forming coalitions! (show all)
Greens Being Green
“Green Party's youth wing anxious for Māori over police powers in COVID-19 law.” (show all)
“Emergency law must ease access to contraceptive pill,” say the Scottish Greens (show all)
GPPA Coming Eventsedited by Chris Robinson Green Party events are in GREEN. Other Movement events are in RED.
June 2
June 2, 6:00 pm
June 5, 12, 19
June 7, noon
June 7, 4:00 pm
June 11, 4:00 pm
June 13
June 13, 6:00 pm
June 15, 7:00 pm
June 16
June 19 thru June 28
June 19
June 23, 7:00 pm
June 28, 1:00 pm
July 7, 6:00 pm
GPPA Meeting Dates for 2020:
Web Conferences are online - RSVP to get connection information. The locations for in-person conferences are to be determined. In-person conferences can be hosted by counties, county groups or regions. These events are fundraisers. When hosted locally, the host group receives back half of the revenue after expenses. To apply for hosting, submit your info to our Application for Local Hosting of GPPA State Meetings or GPPA-Sponsored Events. We strive for geographic diversity in reviewing applications, however, all submissions are considered.
Green Party of Pennsylvania Communications Team & Media Committee Issue Credits: EDITORS:
Chris Robinson, & Gayle Morrow
Everything we do is based on our Four Pillars and Ten Key Values. If you find that you share these ideals, come and join the movement. You can support the Green Party in many ways; however, a monthly sustaining donation helps to fund a solid infrastructure to help local chapters coordinate candidates and provide resources to make their campaigns successful. As little as $3 per month can have a significant impact! Sustaining Donation Single Donation Purchase Green Merchandise Join us and help bring about a future where people and planet are valued over profits. We have a new, tiered membership structure that allows you to determine your level of commitment and support. And if you want to get more directly involved, consider joining an action team. Work with other committed progressives and activists in activities such as planning events, developing media content, or helping with campaigns. Let's join together to make 2020 the year of progressives!
The Green Star is an official publication of the Green Party of Pennsylvania Communications Team * 2020 |
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Green Party of Pennsylvania · PO Box 59524, Philadelphia,
PA 19102, United States
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Sustaining memberships have
continued to climb during the past month with more than a dozen
first-time donors joining the GPPA membership program. Sustaining
members support us with monthly donations and are a vital part of
advancing our policies and actions. Joining as a sustaining member
comes with a variety of benefits detailed 
The COVID-19 crisis has made
typical petitioning efforts difficult, but Green Wave has remained
busy! Welcome calls for new Green Party members were successfully held
in April and May. Green Wave also announced a lawsuit in federal court
to get signature requirements waived this year due to COVID-19. In the
meantime, Greens in several counties are looking at canvassing as much
as possible, if and when it is safe to do so and/or mailing petitions
to voters. We welcome volunteers to help with canvassing or
calling/texting voters about signing petitions. 
The ComTeam is still
looking for a few good volunteers, especially those who want to do
video interviews. Also, if you want to write a “Why I’m Green” story
for us, please visit, 
If you are interested in
helping, sign up 
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