The 2024 election was a difficult one for the Libertarian Party of New York. It was the first time the Libertarian Party candidate was not on the ballot in New York since 1972. The ballot access thresholds were raised in 2020, making it more difficult to petition. On top of that, the Libertarian National Convention was not held until the end of petitioning period, and so the nominees were not known when collecting signatures.
This was the first time since 1956 (Eisenhower versus Stevenson), and the second time since 1872 (Grant versus Greeley) in which New Yorkers only had two choices on the ballot for President of the United States.
Certified Results
The New York State Board of Elections has certified the 2024 election. A total of 5,338 write-in votes for Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat has been reported. Unfortunately, we presently do not have a good comparison to the write-in campaign for Larry Sharpe/Andrew Hollister for the 2022 gubernatorial election, as the data is incomplete and showed 1,838 from 52 out of 62 counties, although some of those counties only had partial results.
We are still reviewing the county-by-county results for 2024 and a more detail analysis will be published later. We encourage you to review the results in your area and if you find anything questionable, please contact us.
Activism as the Future
Despite not getting on the ballot, the Libertarian Party of New York continues to look to other strategies to advance liberty beyond the electoral process.
LPNY Chair Duane Whitmer has urged Libertarians in New York get involved in other ways such as speaking at local board meetings, reaching out and talking about the issues to your local elected officials, and networking with other groups. Jim Ostrowski, who has advocated for direct action for years, spoke to the State Committee at their December 15, 2024 meeting. Future articles here will provide examples and tips on how you can advance liberty in your area.
The Liberty Test
The Communications Committee and Platform Committee has been working on developing an LPNY podcast entitled The Liberty Test. They have been working on testing the format and the technical aspects of the podcast, and more details will be provided in a future issue on the podcast itself. Stay tuned.
Ballot Access Fight Continues
The fight for ballot access will continue, as the LPNY continues to work with the Green Party of New York in seeking options to advocate for ballot access reform in New York State.