LP Gains Members, Ballot Access

The Libertarian Party emerged from the 1996 elections with its second-best presidential vote total ever, seven Libertarians elected or re-elected to office, numerous candidates scoring in the double-digit range, record membership, and ballot status in a record number of states. However; the party also suffered some high-profile election disappointments—and also saw increased competition from other third parties erode its vote totals in some races.

Starting at the top of the ticket, Libertarian presidential candidate Harry Browne won almost half a million votes—-the second highest vote in party history. The Harry Browne/Jo Jorgensen ticket received 471,000 votes—-just over .5% of the popular vote—-which represented a 62% increase in votes over the party's 1992 totals, when LP candidate Andre Marrou received 291,000 votes. Browne's vote totals ranked behind only 1980 presidential candidate Ed Clark, who won 921,000 votes.

The results show that ''we have to start tomorrow building a larger Libertarian Party'' said Browne in a speech at his Election Night party. ''We have to elevate the party to the next level. We've gone from the crawling stage to the walking stage—-and we're getting ready for the running stage.''

Browne's vote total was lower than some activists had anticipated, given Browne's appearances on the Larry King show on cable TV networks, and on hundreds of radio talk shows. Supporters also hoped for more of a boost from his popular book, Why Government Doesn't Work, and from hundreds of thousands of dollars in radio and TV advertising. But the reality, argued an Allpolitics World Wide Web site political analyst, was that despite ''a tireless string of radio and television interviews . . . the mainstream media, for the most part, ignored Browne, as it did other third party and independent candidates'' —-so Browne could not ''propel [his] candidacy into the average American home.''

Despite the lack of a major media breakthrough, Browne said the party had taken ''many giant steps forward'' because of his campaign. ''We have opened the door this year,'' he said. ''Far more people know of the Libertarian Party and the ideas we stand for.'' In terms of concrete accomplishments, Browne pointed out, ''We doubled the party's membership in just the past two years. And thanks to this campaign, everyone in politics and the media knows who we are and what we stand for. All of us have so much to be proud of. What we have achieved will bear fruit in the near future.''

In examining the election results, Campaign Director Sharon Ayres said the ''Perot Factor'' also impacted on Browne's vote totals. ''Just as in 1992, we were up against Ross Perot,'' she said. ''We faced a well-financed billionaire who echoed the Libertarian Party's critique of the fiscal irresponsibility of the Republicans and Democrats---but who had $30 million to publicize himself. Obviously Perot picked up a lot of the generic protest vote.''

Ayers also noted that the ballot was cluttered this year with an exceptionally large number of other ''third-party'' candidates for president—-further diluting the anti-Republican, anti- Democratic vote. Browne beat most of the third-party challengers, including Howard Phillips of the U.S. Taxpayer's Party (who got just 178,000 votes) and John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party (110,000 votes). However; a late 215,000-vote surge in California pushed well-known consumer advocate and Green Party candidate Ralph Nader past Browne with a surprising 580,000 votes.

In state and local races, the LP continued its winning streak, electing four new Libertarians to office, and reelecting three others. On a disappointing note, two high-profile Libertarians went down to defeat.

In New Hampshire, incumbent State Representative Don Gorman finished third in his three-way race with 23.5% of the vote. Unlike previous wins, Gorman was not able to pick up the cross-nomination of another party, and was defeated by a Democrat, who won with 43.5% of the vote. ''Although my record as a member of the N.H. House for the past two sessions was honorable and much respected by other House members, it was impossible to beat the Republican straight-ticket voters and the well-organized, well-funded Democratic organization,'' said Gorman afterwards. But the former Libertarian House Leader expressed confidence that the LP would win back its place in the N.H. House. ''I feel sure that this will not be the end of the Libertarian presence, despite the setback we've suffered this time,'' he said.

In Michigan, Jon Coon came in third in his three-way race for State Representative with 15.7% of the vote. Coon was beaten by the popular Democratic incumbent (who won 68% of the vote in a heavily unionized, heavily Democratic district), and finished a fraction of a point behind the Republican. ''It would be difficult to point to anything that the [Coon] campaign did wrong,'' said Ron Crickenberger, the head of the LP Campaign Committee. ''Their main obstacle was a heavily Democratic district, and an incumbent without any big negatives to run against. This race, even more than most, is an example of how we need to build a bigger army of members in order to achieve regular electoral success.''

A final interesting note about both the NH and Michigan defeats: The White House played a role in both races. ''President Bill Clinton himself came in to campaign against Coon, speaking at a rally for the incumbent Democrat,'' noted Crickenberger. ''[In the Gorman race], Tipper Gore came in to campaign for the Democrat. Is there a pattern here?''

In total votes for LP candidates around the nation, the party showed some gains and some losses compared to previous elections. Cumulatively, 1996 LP candidates for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and governor garnered 1,161,000 votes, down from 1994's 1,460,000 votes. The decline was explained by several factors: An increased focus on lower-level races, a decline in the number of LP candidates for governor, and the fact that substantially more third party candidates were on the ballot, scrambling for votes.

For example, in California, Libertarian National Committee member Joe Dehn noted, ''Increased competition from other alternative parties appears to have resulted in lower percentages in the partisan races. In 1994, most of our candidates, 19 out of 30, were running in three-way races; in 1996, only eight of 42 were in three-way races. In 1994, only one of our candidates was in a five-way race; in 1996 there were 15 such cases!''

However, the total estimated number of people voting Libertarian remained stable at about 2.2 million, and the total number of votes cast for LP candidates in federal and statewide races jumped to almost 5.4 million. That number was boosted by an unprecedented 10 LP candidates who cracked the lofty 100,000 mark in votes.

On the ballot access front, the party emerged from the 1996 elections in its strongest position ever following a presidential election. The party earned ballot status in 22 states, compared to its previous best total of 18 states in 1992. ''In 22 states, we can concentrate our efforts on getting people elected. We don't have to spend our time and money to get on the ballot,'' said National LP Chair Steve Dasbach.

The party is on the ballot in Arizona, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. (The LP also remained a ''qualified'' party in Pennsylvania, but must still petition to get candidates on the ballot.)

The most significant ballot access victory, said Dasbach, was in West Virginia—-''probably the single most difficult ballot drive we faced, due to the onerous requirements.'' Besides saving more than $25,000 in ballot access costs, the LP also became the first third party since 1924 to earn ''major party'' status in West Virginia.

A few final pieces of good news for Libertarians: Although the sentiment did not translate into a surge of votes for LP candidates this year, a post-election poll by the Associated Press revealed that 52% of voters in the '96 election agreed that ''government is doing too many things best left to business and individuals.'' And a New York Times poll discovered that only 20% of voters think government can be trusted most or all of the time.

That's more evidence, said Harry Browne after the election, that ''a great majority of the American people would like to vote for someone who would make government smaller, less expensive, and less intrusive. What is missing [from the Libertarian Party] is the ability to let all Americans know what we offer. ''The only sure way to acquire that ability is through the steady building of party membership, which will lead to the money necessary to attract attention, which will lead to the media coverage that will make us part of the national discussion,'' he said. ''So let's get started now building the party to the magnitude necessary for every American to know what we can give them. Let's begin now!''

This article was condensed from the Libertarian National Committee's ''Liberty Report.''