Attaining ballot access is likely the most important thing we can do to grow the Green Party in Kansas. Once we have ballot access, the Kansas Green Party can nominate candidates for ANY PARTISAN OFFICE and registered Kansas voters will be able to register as Greens.

To attain ballot access, we must collect signatures for an Official Party Recognition Petition. The required number of signatures must be collected within 180 days and submitted to the Secretary of State.

Kansas Green Party Petition Drive 2021

We will begin collecting signatures on April 22, 2021 and will continue until October 18, 2021. 

Only registered Kansas voters can sign the petition.

Signatures must be collected in person.

Fill out the form linked below to schedule a time to have your signature collected:

We are also looking for volunteers to collect petition signatures. Click below to download the petition and affidavit forms!

The Kansas Green Party held its annual statewide meeting on January 16th, 2021. Please see the recording posted here.

On January 16, 2021, the Kansas Green Party held its annual convention. At the convention, an amendment to the party’s bylaws was proposed and was passed unanimously. This new article of the bylaws provides rules for future presidential primaries.

ARITICLE X – PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

The Kansas Green Party may hold a vote among its members to determine how to proportionally allocate its delegates to the Presidential Nominating Convention among presidential candidates. 

Section 1. Notice:

The date of the Kansas Green Party’s presidential primary or the time period in which votes will be accepted shall be announced by the Kansas Green Party Council no later than February 1st of the year in which the general election is to be held. Such announcement shall be made by an email to members of the Kansas Green Party. Additionally, the Kansas Green Party Council shall make some form of public notice of the primary. Such public notice may consist of an email to non-members, a social media post, an ad in a Kansas newspaper, notification to the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States or other relevant committee, or a message to any candidates for the Green Party presidential nomination of whom the Kansas Green Party is aware. If the Kansas Green Party Council chooses to notify candidates as part of an effort to raise public awareness of the upcoming primary, the Council must make a good faith effort to identify all candidates seeking the Green Party nomination.

 All interested persons, whether or not they are members of the Green Party, are hereby on notice that if an announcement of a Kansas Green Party presidential primary does not occur in compliance with this section, the Kansas Green Party is prohibited from holding a presidential primary for that election year and thus shall not submit any delegates representing the party to the Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) unless said delegates are designated as uncommitted.

Section 2. Voting Procedure:

The Kansas Green Party Council has the authority and discretion to determine the procedure for voting or to delegate that authority to another committee. The voting procedure shall put a minimal burden on voters while also ensuring their anonymity and a reliable final result. Such procedure must be finalized before the primary is officially announced.

Section 3. Time Period for Voting

The date of the primary or the first day in which votes may be cast must take place at least five weeks after the primary is announced, but no later than April 15th of the general election year. If the Kansas Green Party Council adopts a procedure which allows remote voting by mail, email, or third-party software, participants shall be given at least one week to cast their votes.

Section 4. Transparency and Recounts:

All ballots shall be kept and stored in a reliable location until after the election as the final official record of the vote. The results of the election shall be finalized and made public no later than ten days after voting has concluded. Each candidate whose name appeared on the primary ballot shall be given access to copies of all ballots that were received, as well as any other information used to count the ballots. 

Each candidate whose name appeared on the primary ballot shall also have the privilege to request one recount of the ballots if he or she can point to a possible discrepancy in the administration of the election. Each candidate may exercise this privilege on their own behalf or on the behalf of a write-in candidate who received at least one vote. A recount request shall not be accepted later than ten days after election results are finalized and made public. There will only be one recount. All candidates or their representatives to the election shall be invited to take part in this recount.

Section 5. Eligibility of Candidates:

Any natural person who meets the minimum qualifications to serve as president and has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission may submit a letter by mail or email requesting to be included in the primary. The letter must briefly explain why the prospective candidate is a good national representative of the party. It must be sent to the Kansas Green Party at least two weeks before the date of the primary or two weeks before the first day of the voting period. In addition to the letter, any candidate wishing to participate must also submit a $5 filing fee. 

In addition to the eligible candidates, voters shall also have the option to write in the name of a candidate who did not appear on the ballot or choose “none of the above.” 

Section 6. Eligibility of Voters:

All voters participating in the presidential primary must be registered voters in Kansas. If the Kansas Green Party is a recognized political party in Kansas at the time of the primary, a voter must be registered as a Green in order to participate. If the Kansas Green Party is not a recognized party at the time of the primary, a voter must not be affiliated with another political party and must otherwise be a member of the Kansas Green Party in order to participate.

Section 7. Impartiality:

The Kansas Green Party Council shall strive to treat all candidates fairly and equally. To the best of the Council’s ability, required notifications to all candidates must be given at approximately the same time to allow each candidate a similar period of time to respond. 

Members of the Kansas Green Party Council and other members of the Kansas Green Party taking part in the formulation of the voting procedure or the administration of the election are permitted to volunteer with the campaign of their favored candidate. However, no such member is permitted to allow any favoritism to interfere with their duty to impartially administer the election. Any party member who is employed with a campaign shall recuse themselves from any participation beyond casting a vote in the election. If any member’s bias appears to have an effect on the integrity of the election, the Kansas Green Party Council may vote by a simple majority to determine bias and compel the recusal of the biased member or take other necessary remedial action.

Section 8. Selection of Delegates to the PNC:

The Kansas Green Party Council has the authority and discretion to determine the procedure for the selection of Delegates to the PNC. Such procedure must be finalized before the date of the primary or the first day in which votes may be cast.

We are continuing to build this party. We now have 83 official members across the state, two local chapters are forming, and other members are showing interest in forming local chapters. There is still a lot of work to do though.

The big gorilla in the room is ballot access. We are making plans to begin a ballot access drive in April 2021, but it will be necessary to lobby the Kansas Legislature to lower the required signatures and extend the period for collecting them. At the same time, it will be necessary to file a lawsuit against the state in order to lower the required number. This should encourage the Legislature to pass our bill in order to make the lawsuit moot.

We will seek funding from the Green Party of the United States Ballot Access Committee for funding, but we will also need to do our own fundraising to make these efforts possible.

We also need more progressive Kansans to step up to help us build this party. We need to recruit new members, build more local chapters, and recruit members of the various communities across the state to run for office. Still, we are making progress.

Below is the bylaws amendment proposed by the Kansas Green Party Council. The amendment provides rules and guidelines for future presidential primaries. On Monday, October 12, the below text was provided to all current members of the Kansas Green Party as of that date. Members have been given until Monday October 26 to comment on the proposal. A vote will be held for the adoption of the proposal at a statewide meeting this Winter.

AMENDMENT I – PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY 

The Kansas Green Party may hold a vote among its members to determine how to proportionally allocate its delegates to the Presidential Nominating Convention among presidential candidates. 

Section 1. Notice:

The date of the Kansas Green Party’s presidential primary or the time period in which votes will be accepted shall be announced by the Kansas Green Party Council no later than February 1^st of the year in which the general election is to be held. Such announcement shall be made by an email to members of the Kansas Green Party. Additionally, the Kansas Green Party Council shall make some form of public notice of the primary. Such public notice may consist of an email to non-members, a social media post, an ad in a Kansas newspaper, notification to the Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States or other relevant committee, or a message to any candidates for the Green Party presidential nomination of whom the Kansas Green Party is aware. If the Kansas Green Party Council chooses to notify candidates as part of an effort to raise public awareness of the upcoming primary, the Council must make a good faith effort to identify all candidates seeking the Green Party nomination. 

All interested persons, whether or not they are members of the Green Party, are hereby on notice that if an announcement of a Kansas Green Party presidential primary does not occur in compliance with this section, the Kansas Green Party is prohibited from holding a presidential primary for that election year and thus shall not submit any delegates representing the party to the Presidential Nominating Convention (PNC) unless said delegates are designated as uncommitted. 

Section 2. Voting Procedure:

The Kansas Green Party Council has the authority and discretion to determine the procedure for voting or to delegate that authority to another committee. The voting procedure shall put a minimal burden on voters while also ensuring their anonymity and a reliable final result. Such procedure must be finalized before the primary is officially announced.

Section 3. Time Period for Voting:

The date of the primary or the first day in which votes may be cast must take place at least 5 weeks after the primary is announced, but no later than April 15^th of the general election year. If the Kansas Green Party Council adopts a procedure which allows remote voting by mail, email, or third-party software, participants shall be given at least one week to cast their votes. 

Section 4. Transparency and Recounts:

All ballots shall be kept and stored in a reliable location until after the election as the final official record of the vote. The official vote count shall be finalized and made public no later than 10 days after the primary election date or the last day of the voting period. Each candidate whose name appeared on the primary ballot shall be given access to copies of all ballots that were received, as well as any other information used to count the ballots. 

Each candidate whose name appeared on the primary ballot shall also have the privilege to request one recount of the ballots if he or she can point to a possible discrepancy in the administration of the election. Each candidate may exercise this privilege on their own behalf or on the behalf of a write-in candidate who received at least one vote. A recount request shall not be accepted later than 10 days after the election results are finalized and made public. 

There will only be one recount. All candidates or their representatives to the election shall be invited to take part in this recount

Section 5. Eligibility of Candidates:

Any natural person who meets the minimum qualifications to serve as president may submit a letter by mail or email stating his or her intention to be included in the primary and a brief explanation as to how the candidate is a good national representative of the party. The letter must be sent to the Kansas Green Party at least 2 weeks before the date of the primary or the first day of the voting period. In addition to the letter, any candidate wishing to participate must also submit a $5 filing fee. 

In addition to the eligible candidates, voters shall also have the option to write in the name of a candidate who did not appear on the ballot or choose “none of the above.” 

Section 6. Eligibility of Voters:

All voters participating in the presidential primary must be registered voters in Kansas. If the Kansas Green Party is a recognized political party in Kansas at the time of the primary, a voter must be registered as a Green in order to participate. If the Kansas Green Party is not a recognized party at the time of the primary, a voter must not be affiliated with another political party and must otherwise be a member of the Kansas Green Party in order to participate.

Section 7. Impartiality:

The Kansas Green Party Council shall strive to treat all candidates fairly and equally. To the best of the Council’s ability, required notifications to all candidates must be given at approximately the same time to allow each candidate a similar period of time to respond. 

Members of the Kansas Green Party Council and other members of the Kansas Green Party taking part in the formulation of the voting procedure or the administration of the election are permitted to volunteer with the campaign of their favored candidate. However, no such member is permitted to allow any favoritism to interfere with their duty to impartially administer the election. Any party member who is employed with a campaign shall recuse themselves from any participation beyond casting a vote in the election. If any member’s bias appears to have an effect on the integrity of the election, the Kansas Green Party Council may vote by a simple majority to determine bias and compel the recusal of the biased member or take other necessary remedial action.

Section 8. Selection of Delegates to the PNC:

The Kansas Green Party Council has the authority and discretion to determine the procedure for the selection of Delegates to the PNC. Such procedure must be finalized before the date of the primary or the first day in which votes may be cast.

From September 27 to October 5th, the 65 current members of the Kansas Green Party were given the opportunity to vote in favor of Kent Rowe being elected as Co-Chair of the Kansas Green Party. At a Kansas Green Party Council Meeting on September 27, Teresa Wilke (Co-Chair), Paul Krumm (Treasurer), Nick Blessing (Secretary), and Kent Rowe (Interim Co-Chair) all voted in favor of officially electing Rowe to the position. An email was sent out to all other members on September 28 to inform them that they could vote to express their support for Rowe’s election. Three additional Kansas Green Party members voted for Rowe via email.

Prior to this voting period, the Kansas Green Party Council was accepting nominations for the Co-Chair positions from Kansas Green Party members during the month of August.

Only two individuals were nominated, but Rowe was the only one who accepted.

Things are looking pretty good and I am very optimistic. We now have 54 members in our party. This is a substantial increase from just two months ago when we only had 15 members. We are also engaging with our members to establish local chapters throughout the state. Also, we will soon be announcing our first candidate for 2021 local elections! More details on that soon! We also may have a Green who has a chance of being appointed to the Kansas Corporation Commission! Finally, we are working on an amendment to our bylaws which will bind the Kansas Green Party to certain standard while conducting future presidential primaries. We received some criticism due to the way our 2020 primary was conducted. This will be taken up officially after the November election.

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Nick Blessing

Secretary, Kansas Green Party

The Kansas Green Party is in a major building/rebuilding phase. This is a difficult process and we are very much in need of people to step up into leadership roles. We are growing and we have good people in leadership, but we are in need of new blood with new ideas. We need folks who are willing to take charge while also having the grace and humility to listen to legitimate concerns and opposing opinions.

It is common practice for folks to get involved and find that there is actual work to do. Subsequently, they drop out. It’s understandable, of course, because people have their own personal lives and other interests. Personally, I originally got involved because I was pissed off at the Democratic Party and I wanted to be able to register as a Green. Turns out, you can’t do that in Kansas because the Green Party is not recognized by the state. It’s been three and a half fucking years and I’m still here and I still can’t register as a Green.

You have to know as you come into this party, that this is not easy. Do not expect it to be.

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Nick Blessing

Secretary, Kansas Green Party