Breaking News: WE ARE ON THE BALLOT!

Thousands of Maryland voters demonstrated their conviction that non-corporate parties have an important place on our state ballot. Voters across the state included their signatures on petitions that we submitted to the Board of Elections earlier this month. It was announced today that the Maryland Green Party successfully collected enough signatures, ensuring a choice for voters in the state who recognize the futility and rotted system of the corporate duopoly. Franca Paz Muller in Baltimore, George Gluck in Rockville and Presidential and Vice-presidential candidates Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker will be listed on our ballots. These candidates and their volunteers, as well as MGP activists and members across the state put in hours of effort to make this happen. Special shout-out to MGPers Andy Ellis, Hunt Hobbs and Tim Willard for their extraordinary dedication and tireless work. Sign up to get your mail-in ballot and change your affiliation to the Green Party!

Join Howie Hawkins in Maryland TOMORROW!

Join Presidential candidate Howie Hawkins and the Bethesda African American Cemetery Coalition tomorrow, August 19, to protest the desecration of an African American cemetery. This cemetery is located on the grounds of a former tobacco plantation and slave breeding plantation that became a successful Black community until it was displaced to build a suburb for white people. Today at 8 p.m., Vice Presidential Candidate Angela Walker will live-stream a conversation on this issue with Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, the co-founder of the campaign and Green Party member.

Where:

Macedonia Baptist Church

5119 River Road

Bethesda, Maryland 20816

When:

10 AM, August 19, Press Conference

11:30 to 12:30 PM, March

March two blocks down River Road to the Desecration Site, the former cemetery 

The Latest on Our Presidential Campaign... 

People in 36 states will be able to vote for Hawkins/Walker and the campaign is currently petitioning in 14 states.

It is dangerous for people to be petitioning during a pandemic. Hawkins/Walker petitioners take a lot of precautions working to gather signatures to exercise our basic democratic right to run for office and for voters to be given a choice beyond the Democrats and Republicans. The US is unique in requiring large numbers of signatures to run for office. This is a barrier to democracy that no other country has. While not all countries have elections for president, we can compare requirements for national legislatures for comparison purposes. In the US it varies from state to state. In Illinois over 15,000 signatures are required; in Georgia over 20,000 are required. By comparison, the United Kingdom requires 10 signatures, New Zealand requires two, Australia requires 50, Canada requires 100 in urban ridings and 50 in rural ridings.

In addition to very likely being on the ballot in Maryland, Hawkins/Walker is on the ballot in most of the large states, e.g. California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. It is also on the three states that decided the 2016 election or has submitted signatures sufficient to be on the ballot in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The Hawkins/Walker campaign has put out a series of statements on how to respond to COVID-19 beginning on March 3. President Trump has surrendered to COVID-19 and has failed to put forward a national plan to respond to the pandemic. Former Vice President Biden is silent and not using his national podium to lead the nation or his party. Congress is in a stalemate unable to put forward the emergency measures needed to respond to the crisis.  See the two most recent: Red Lines for COVID Economic Recovery  and The Moment of Truth for COVID and Economic Relief.

What else is happening...

Check out page 4 of the latest edition of Workplace Leader for Baltimore City Green Party member and union activist Bill Barry’s article on how to organize for safety in your workplace: a crucial topic in today’s world! 

The Anne Arundel Greens are meeting virtually the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. Meeting ID and password available upon request. Please contact Ted Weber for more information at [email protected].

Please contact [email protected] if you have any content suggestions for next month’s newsletter. Until September: Happy reading, and happy organizing!

Maryland Green Party
http://www.mdgreens.org/