Dear Pin Point,
The formation of a new political party in the United States is a long
and costly process. It happens that you also picked two of the most
rigid systems for the establishment of a minor party. There are
several basic steps in forming a new political party, and later I'll
discuss special details regarding Florida and the District of
Columbia. There is a section referring to the tax issues. However, it
might be beneficial for you to know, that your organisation does not
have to be recognised as a party in order to file taxes under sec.
527.
Party Convention
----------------
The first step in forming a party is to establish a party convention.
It sounds very pompous, but a party convention does not have to be
similar to the ones you see on TV - it is basically a congregation of
all founders - deciding on a name (that is not used yet by any
qualified party) and on temporary officials.
What is a "Qualified" Party?
----------------------------
Basically, it is a party that could run in the primary level. However,
the definitions change, and basically, it means a party, whose
candidates already shown some success, and that has a certain
percentage of voters.
Both the State of Florida and the District of Columbia distinguish
between two types of parties: major parties (Democrats and
Republicans) and minor parties (the rest of the parties). There are
provisions to the activity of minor parties, and these limitations
would - for example - substantially slow the paste in which you want
to turn your party into a national party.
Florida defines a minor party as "any group as defined in this
subsection which on January 1 preceding a primary election does not
have registered as members 5 percent of the total registered electors
of the state. Any group of citizens organized for the general purposes
of electing to office qualified persons and determining public issues
under the democratic processes of the United States may become a minor
political party of this state by filing with the department a
certificate showing the name of the organization, the names of its
current officers, including the members of its executive committee,
and a copy of its constitution or bylaws. It shall be the duty of the
minor political party to notify the department of any changes in the
filing certificate within 5 days of such changes."
[SOURCE: Florida Elections Laws, Section 97.021(14)
<http://election.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/electionLaws.pdf>]
In the D.C., there are similar provisions, "1605.2 Application for
approval of the name of a political party shall be made on a form
prescribed by the Board.
; 1605.3 The application for party approval shall include the name,
address, telephone number, and voter registration number of the
chairperson, treasurer, other principal officers and each member of
the duly authorized local committee of such party in the District."
(SOURCE: DCMR Chapter 16, 1605 Approval of Political Party Names,
<http://www.dcboee.org/information/candidates/app_party_name.shtm>).
Notification of Foundation
--------------------------
The Secretar(ies) of the State(s), where you are to establish the
party, must be notified, in writing, after the first party convention.
A letter should include:
- Names, addresses of temporary party officials
- Name of the party.
- Constitution or Bylaws. Your party?s ideology shouldn?t be contra to
the laws of the state (or the country), which basically means it
doesn?t promote illegal practices or the overthrow of the regime.
Number of Supporters
--------------------
As you've seen before, a proof of the number of supporters is essential.
In both places, candidates who do not belong to a major party, could
run either as non-partisan candidates or as minor party candidates
with about the same consequences.
In Florida: "The executive committee of a minor political party shall,
no later than noon of the third day prior to the first day of the
qualifying period prescribed for federal candidates and no later than
noon of the third day prior to the first day of the qualifying period
for state candidates, submit to the Department of State the official
list of the respective candidates nominated by that party to be on the
ballot in the general election. The Department of State shall notify
the appropriate supervisors of elections of the name of each minor
party candidate eligible to qualify before such supervisor. The
official list of nominated candidates may not be changed by the party
after having been filed with the Department of State, except that
candidates who have qualified may withdraw from the ballot pursuant to
the provisions of this code, and vacancies in nominations may be
filled pursuant to s. 100.111."
[SOURCE: State of Florida, Election Laws, 99.096(1)]
In the D.C.:
" For a Primary Election, a petition for the office of Delegate,
Mayor, Chairman of the Council, At-Large Member of the Council, US
Senator or US Representative shall contain the signatures of at least
two thousand (2,000) persons who are duly registered in the same
political party as the candidate, or of one percent (1%) of the duly
registered members of such political party, whichever is less, as
shown by the records of the Board as of the one hundred twenty third
(123rd) day before the date of the Primary Election. ...
"For the General Election (Direct Access Nomination), a petition for
the office of Delegate, Mayor, or Chairman of the Council, At-Large
Member of the Council, US Senator or US Representative shall contain
the signatures of at least three thousand (3,000) registered voters in
the District or of at least one and one half per cent (1.5%) of the
total number of registered voters in the District as of the one
hundred twenty third (123rd) day before the date of the General
Election.
"
(SOURCE : Government of the District of Columbia, 3 DCMR
Chapter 16: Candidates
<http://www.dcboee.org/information/candidates/sign_req.shtm>).
Fees
----
For each candidate you have to pay "qualifying fee", which stands on:
"6% of annual salary as of July 1, 2004 for candidates with party
affiliation; OR 4% of annual salary as of July 1, 2004 for candidates
with no party affiliation". (See Florida 99.096 (2)-(3); and also
Florida's Candidate Handbook,
<http://election.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/QualHand.pdf>).
Alternatively, a petition with signatures of at least 1% of the
registered voters must be handed.
The state may ask for a bond [See Socialist Workers Party v. Leahy
(7/7/1998, No. 97-4295),
<http://www.law.emory.edu/11circuit/july98/97-4295.man.html>]
Tax Issues
----------
Ballot Access site states, that "527 organizations" are nicknamed for
sec. 527 of the Internal Revenue Code. They are "political
organizations for the purpose of influencing a federal, state or local
election". Their income is tax-exempt, but they must disclose their
contributors and expenditures, if they try to influence federal
elections. They cannot accept corporate or union money, but donations
to them can be very large." (SOURCE: Ballot Access, January 1, 2004 ?
Volume 19, Number 9
<http://www.ballot-access.org/2004/0101.html>). These organisations do
not have to be parties - they could be lobbies, social movements, and
other civil groups.
Online IRS files are available here:
<http://www.irs.gov/charities/political/article/0,,id=109644,00.html>
Whom to Contact
---------------
Usually, each state's election commission is subjected to the Department of State.
In Florida, see details at
Division of Elections
<http://election.dos.state.fl.us/>
Main Line: (850) 245-6200
Fax Numbers: (850) 245-6217 or (850) 245-6218
Email: DivElections@dos.state.fl.us
Mailing Address:
Department of State
Division of Elections
107 W. Gaines Street
The Collins Building, Room 100
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Bureau of Election Records
Main Line: (850) 245-6240
Fax Number: (850) 245-6259 or (850) 245-6260
Email: ElecRecords@dos.state.fl.us
Mailing Address:
Department of State
Division of Elections
Bureau of Election Records
Room 316, R.A. Gray Building
500 South Bronough Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250.
Candidate's Handbook
<http://election.dos.state.fl.us/publications/pdf/QualHand.pdf>
In the DC, see :
Board of Elections
<http://www.dcboee.org/index.shtm>
Board of Elections and Ethics
441 4th Street, NW, Suite 250 North
Washington, DC 20001 (202) 727-2525
(Full instructions here: <http://www.dcboee.org/abt/ru.shtm>).
Links and further information
-----------------------------
DC Political Report <http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/PartyLink.htm> -
a list of minor parties in the U.S.
Florida Political Parties <http://volusia.org/elections/parties.htm>
Ballot Access for American Political Parties More Generally
<http://democracy.ru/english/library/international/eng_1996-15/page4.html>
POLITICAL PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES
By John F. Bibby
<http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/archive/elect00/parties.htm>
Party Formation in Iowa
<http://www.sos.state.ia.us/pdfs/elections/FormingPoliticalParty.pdf>
The Beginning of the Libertarian Party of Minnesota
<http://www.lpmn.org/history.html>
Political Parties in Maryland - Maryland State Board of Elections - §
4-102. New political parties.
<http://www.elections.state.md.us/citizens/law/el4/el_4-102.htm>
North Carolina
(1) The Law <http://www.ncleg.net/Statutes/GeneralStatutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_163/GS_163-96.html>
(2) PETITION TO CREATE A NEW POLITICAL PARTY
<http://www.app.sboe.state.nc.us/petitioncheck/pdf/newpoliticalpartypetition.pdf&e=7317>
Montana - Section 115-315 New political party, how formed
<http://www.moga.state.mo.us/statutes/C100-199/1150000315.HTM&e=7317>
Search Strategy
---------------
An exact answer was found after thorough searches, since the State of
Florida's sites are less the comprehensible about the whole deal.
I searched with terms such as :
[minor political party] [new poltical party] (and of course, without
the term "political") AND
[name of state] AND
[names of provisions, decrees, etc.]
I hope this answered your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarifications on this answer before you rate it. |
Clarification of Answer by
politicalguru-ga
on
12 Mar 2004 12:41 PST
Dear Pin Point,
This is the definition of a political organisation according to the law:
<http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/527.html>
According to the IRS and according to the law, you have to register
with the IRS in order to receive 527 status:
"Registration and Reporting Requirements
There are three new registration and reporting requirements for
section 527 organizations:
1. an initial notice of Section 527 status (IRS Form 8871) - due by July 31, 2000
2. period reports of contributions and expenditures
3. modified annual tax returns"
(SOURCE: "New Law for Section 527 Organizations" IRS,
<http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legman/527info.htm>).
The forms are:
"established organizations must file within 24 hours of their
creation. Any organization that is required to file with the Federal
Election Commission is exempted from these Section 527 reporting
requirements. Also, any organization which reasonably anticipates that
it will have less than $25,000 in gross receipts for any taxable year
is exempted from these new requirements" (ibid).
"To notify the IRS, the organization must file Form 8871, Political
Organization Notice of Section 527 Status. " - you could find this
initial report at <http://www.irs.gov/charities/political/article/0,,id=109644,00.html>
Later on, you'll have to fill periodic reports (file 8872), as in
<http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f8872.pdf>
You don't have to file this form, if you are "a Qualified State or
Local Political Organization", whose definition would be found here:
http://www.irs.gov/charities/political/article/0,,id=103483,00.html
Further on, a third type of forms:
"Annual Income Tax Returns:
Political organizations with taxable income after taking the $100
specific deduction must file Form 1120-POL. FAQs regarding the Annual
Form Filing Requirements are available." Form 1120-POL could be
downloaded:
<http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1120pol.pdf>
"Annual Information Returns:
Tax-exempt political organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or
more for taxable years beginning after June 30, 2000, are required to
file Form 990. Certain small political organizations may file Form
990-EZ instead. See the Form 990 Instructions for more information.
Political organizations that receive contributions of $5,000 or more
from any one contributor will be required to include Form 990 Schedule
B with their return."
Filing Requirements
<http://www.irs.gov/charities/political/article/0,,id=96355,00.html>
I hope this is what you needed!
Good luck with your new party!
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