The Minnesota Secretary of State said the party can only place candidates on the 2024 ballot with the required number of petition signatures.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota is back to having just two official major political parties.
A ruling issued Friday by the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the Legal Marijuana Now Party no longer qualifies as the state’s major political party.
The decision comes after Minnesota DFL Party Leader Ken Martin filed a petition with the Secretary of State’s Office seeking to revoke LMN’s major party status for failing to meet certain state requirements regarding state and local committees and conventions. This follows a lawsuit filed by
Legal Marijuana Now candidates had garnered enough voter support in previous elections to qualify as a major party in major races, until new requirements were introduced this year.
Although no LMN candidate has ever won a primary election, the party has had an impact on Minnesota elections, particularly in the 2nd Congressional District, and LMN candidates have appeared before the election in both 2020 and 2022. died in Adam Weeks’ death in 2020 led to the Minnesota law being implemented. The election has been postponed from November to February 2021. The following year, LMN candidate Paula Albee died just before the 2022 election. But this time, the election was held as scheduled in November, following a federal court ruling regarding Minnesota’s candidate vacancy.
Earlier this year, LMN candidates who entered the presidential primary election asked voters to choose another candidate because they had not agreed to run.
The party’s platform issue of the same name, legalizing recreational marijuana, is also now law in Minnesota.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a news release that the party “must notify the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office that it meets the requirements to be registered as a minor political party.” . Under this ruling, LMN candidates can only appear on the 2024 ballot if the candidate submits the required number of petition signatures, which varies by race.
The ruling leaves only two major political parties active in Minnesota: the Republican Party and the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
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