Iowa Green Party and Official Party Status

The Iowa Green Party lost official political party status following the 2002 general election.  As of January 1, 2008, the Greens are one of two qualified non-party political organizations in Iowa and voters may again register as Greens.

The Greens earned party status in 2000 when presidential candidate Ralph Nader won 2.23% of the Iowa presidential vote.  In order to maintain party status, political parties are required to poll at least 2 percent of the vote for governor or president in each general election.  Based on final official statewide results, the Green Party candidate for governor, Jay Robinson, won 1.1% of the 2002 vote.

In February 2003 the Secretary of State notified county auditors of the loss of party status.  As a result:

• County auditors were required to change the party affiliation of all registered Greens to no party.  New voter cards indicating this change were sent to all voters whose affiliation was changed.  (Any registered voter may change party at any time.)  At the date the change was processed (February 8, 2003) there were 608 registered Greens in Johnson County.
• Voter registration and other forms listed only three party affiliation options (Democratic, Republican, or no party) from 2003 through the end of 2007.
• There is no longer a Green primary; Green candidates are now required to seek ballot positions through the nomination by petition process.

The Greens failed to regain party status in the 2004 and 2006 general elections.  Under current state law, the next opportunity for any party to earn full party status will be in the 2008 general election.

In 2007, as part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Iowa Civil Liberties Union and the Green and Libertarian Parties, Iowa established a petition procedure for non-party organizations to earn a place on the voter registration form.  The Greens and Libertarians both successfully petitioned, and as of January 1, 2008 Iowa voters may register as Greens or Libertarians.  However, non-party organizations will not hold primary elections.

For more information on how loss of party status has been addressed in the past, see our page on the Reform Party.