LP Illinois News - February 2008 #1

Vote Libertarian Illinois Project Update

The mission of the Vote Libertarian Illinois project is to get Libertarian candidates for U.S. President, Vice President, and Senate on Illinois ballots for the November election. Success requires us to collect and deliver approximately 45,000 petition signatures between March 25 and June 23. Our State Organizing Committee will decide at the end of February whether or not to launch this huge effort.

Will the Petition Drive Get the Green Light?

The decision largely comes down to how much support people pledge for the Illinois petition drive at the national, state, and local levels. How many petition signatures can we collect through volunteer efforts? Will we be able to raise enough money to pay for the remainder? Only you and your fellow Libertarians can tell us the answer.

Membership Survey

If you are a LP Illinois member, you should have received a survey in the mail from our State Chair, Val Vetter. Val wants to know what you think about getting Libertarians candidates on the November ballot.

- Vote Green if you want to vote Libertarian and will pledge either petition signatures or dollars to the ballot drive

- Vote Yellow if you want to vote Libertarian, but cannot pledge to help make it happen

- Vote Red if you don't think we should have a ballot drive and run candidates

If you haven't returned your survey yet, it's not too late, but get your vote in today if you want to be part of the decision.

Additional Options

If you didn't receive a survey or want to pledge (or increase) your support by phone or email, you can! Call the office at 800-735-1776 or send an email to VLI@LPIllinois.org with your pledge. Here's an example: "I want to vote Libertarian in November. I pledge to gather 100 signatures during the petition drive to help make it happen." Be sure to include your name and phone number with your pledge as well as a specific number of signatures or dollars.

Donated Signatures vs. Donated Dollars

To gather even 10,000 signatures by volunteers, 100 people will have to make a 100 signature pledge. Will you be one of them? Some will pledge less. Can you pledge more?

Our candidates, Chris Bennett, who is running for the LP nomination for U.S. Vice President, and Larry Stafford, who has been nominated as our candidate for U.S. Senate, have each pledged to collect 500 signatures. They need your support to get on the ballots of Illinois voters.

The more volunteer signatures we get, the less money we will have to spend paying petitioners to collect signatures for us. The budget calls for an average of $1.50 per signature, so for 100 signatures, we need a $150 contribution. Here's an alternate pledge: "I want to vote Libertarian in November. I pledge to donate $150 during the petition drive to help make it happen."

Of course, how much you can pledge is up to you. Every signature, every dollar, every combination, counts and is deeply appreciated. We have, however, a challenge pledge begging for action: a donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has pledged $1,000 toward the drive, but only if another individual steps forward and matches that pledge. Will you take up the challenge? If so, call our number 800-735-1776 or send an email to VLI@LPIllinois. org and share the good news.

Petition Drive Bonus

Getting our candidates on the ballot in November is critical for us as a political party. But we can also factor in the longer-term opportunity this election presents to us.

Election laws make it difficult for "new" parties like us to get on the ballot and reach voters. For example, we have to collect 5 times the number of petition signatures that "established" parties do to get on the ballot. It's grossly unfair, but that's the law as written by the Democrats and Republicans.

However, if our U.S. Senate candidate reaps 5% or more of the vote, that would make the LP Illinois an "established" party for the next election, the Governor's race in 2010. If we only need to put 1/5 of the effort into getting on the ballot, that provides a huge boost in volunteers and dollars that can be spent getting our candidates known and voted for. More votes means more libertarian influence. More influence means movement of public policy in a libertarian direction. That's what this opportunity is really all about.

Can we get 5% of the vote? Ron Paul just received 5% of the vote in the Primary. Our Party grew by 16% last year. Libertarians and libertarian- leaning voters are out there. We need your support to reach them. Act now by picking up the phone and calling 800-735-1776 or emailing VLI@LPIllinois. org with your pledge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can collect petition signatures?

The only requirements are that you be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old. You cannot have collected signatures for other parties in the current election cycle, however, so that means if you collected signatures for Ron Paul, you are not eligible. (More specific info for Ron Paul's supporters can be found on our website, LPIllinois.org. Just look for Ron's picture on the home page.)

How do I collect signatures?

You can either go door to door in your neighborhood or you can go to a place where lots of people gather, like a fair, parade, sports event or concert. We will provide additional specifics as the drive gets closer.

How many signatures can I expect to gather per hour?

It varies a lot, but door to door petitioners typically collect 10 signatures per hour. If you go to a popular event, plan for 20 signatures per hour. We will provide tips for quick and easy petitioning as the drive gets closer.

Should I send money to fund the petition drive now?

No. We are only collecting funding pledges right now as the decision to go ahead with the drive has not been made yet. (If you already sent money for the drive, it's been put aside. If the ballot drive is not given the "green light," we will contact you about returning your money.)