Despite the Libertarian Party (LP) of Alabama's efforts to use Tuesday's midterm election to become a permanent fixture on future ballots, low voter turnout jeopardized its ballot access going into 2024.
For the past two decades, LP candidates in Alabama were write-ins, meaning they were not listed as official party candidates.
This year, the LP was able to turn in enough ballot access petitions to Secretary of State John Merrill. The required petitions had to contain over 50,000 signatures from registered voters.
Members of the LP who spoke to 1819 News about acquiring the signatures said it was a laborious task that required lots of legwork.
In order to get on the ballots for the 2024 election without another petition, the LP would have to gain at least 20% of the vote in any statewide race.
Despite the LP having candidates in every statewide race, the closest any came to achieving the 20% mark was for Lieutenant Governor.
Incumbent Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth won the race by a wide margin with 84% of the vote, while his only opponent, Libertarian Ruth Page-Nelson, received just over 15%.
This means the LP will have to engage in the ballot-access signature process again if it wants to appear on the ballot in 2024.
Provisional ballots could push Page-Nelson, and the party past the 20% mark, but the chances of that happening are slim.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning
