Former Westford Director of Land Use Planning Angus Jennings ran for Lieutenant Governor this fall and this week his party, the United Independent Party, was recognized by the Massachusetts Secretary of State as a “major party.”
The news was announced by Secretary of State’s office on Dec. 3, as Jennings and running mate Evan Falchuk earned 71,814 votes on Election Day, or 3.28 percent.
Under state law, a party must receive at least 3 percent in statewide elections to become a major party, which provides advantages in fundraising and ballot access.
In order to maintain this status, the law requires that at least 1 percent of Massachusetts voters enroll with the party in time for the 2016 elections online via a Mail-In Registration Form.
“Now that we received official party certification from the Secretary of State’s office, we can ramp up our statewide efforts to enroll a minimum of one percent of voters in the UIP. We know this will happen, and is a big part of what will help our staying power as a major party in Massachusetts,” said Falchuk. “If we work hard and stay focused, we can achieve this required number of voter enrollees in our party, and in so doing provide voters with a wider, substantial set of new candidates from which to choose in every state election.”
According to Falchuk, nearly twenty candidates have expressed interest in running under the UIP in 2016 and people from New Hampshire, California, Maryland, Virginia and Alabama have expressed interest in establishing their own state level UIP affiliates.
More information on the UIP’s efforts to reach this next threshold can be found at www.UnitedIndependent.org/enroll.
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