New Party Says Petition Drive Is Successful

New Party Says Petition Drive Is Successful

Michigan’s newly-formed Human Rights party revealed at a meeting Sunday afternoon in the Michigan Union, that it has successfully completed a petition drive to get its name placed on the ballot.

This afternoon, 21,000 signatures will be filed with the Secretary of State’s office in Lansing. This figure is 6,000 over the legally required amount.

The party said this petition drive was a special shot in the arm for the group’s Ann Arbor’s affiliate, the Human Rights-Radical Independent Party.

According to HR-RIP, the unexpected early filing date, six months before Ann Arbor's April city council election, may enable HR-IRP [sic] to appear on the ballot then.

HR-RIP members expressed the belief that city officials were wrong to interpret election law as meaning a filing deadline six months before the February Primary. HR-RIP members based their assertion on the fact that third parties do not hold primaries, but instead nominate by caucus.

The local party said the possible Ann Arbor spring balloting status led to an intensified petition drive by the state party which was especially responsible for the efforts of the HR-RIP, which obtained 4,000 signatures from Ann Arbor alone and more from other areas.

HR-RIP said, “The unexpected vigorous Ann Arbor effort was felt by local party members to be due to its group’s recent expansion because of the 18-year-old vote and the relaxation of residency requirements by the Michigan Supreme Court.”

Ann Arbor members also expressed satisfaction with the selection of their local symbol, the hippopotamus, as the state party’s official symbol on the ballot vignette. “Its hippo triumphed over a half dozen creations,” the party said.

The building of the state party structure was also continued during the meeting. An eight-member state steering committee, elected in recent months and consisting of equal numbers of men and women, was also created. A platform committee was also formed.