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Justice Party (United States)

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Justice Party
FounderRocky Anderson
FoundedNovember 2011 (2011-11)
DissolvedJanuary 17, 2024 (2024-01-17)
IdeologySocial democracy
Progressivism[1]
Political positionCentre-left
Colors  Teal
Slogan"Economic, Environmental, and Social Justice for All"[2]
Website
www.justiceparty.us

The Justice Party was a political party in the United States. It was organized in November 2011 by a group of political activists including Rocky Anderson, a former mayor of Salt Lake City, as an alternative to what they saw as a duopoly of the two major political parties.[3] One of the goals of the Justice Party favored removing corporate domination and other concentrated wealth from politics.[4][5] In 2012, the Justice Party nominated Rocky Anderson for president and Luis J. Rodriguez for vice president. The Justice Party endorsed Bernie Sanders during the primary election in 2016.

History

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Former mayor of Salt Lake City Rocky Anderson founded the Justice Party and was the party's 2012 presidential candidate.

In December 2011, the Justice Party became a qualified party in Mississippi, the first state to recognize the party.[6] From a small beginning, 30 persons at the launching event with no TV crew covering it, the Justice Party was able to put its founder Rocky Anderson on the ballot in 15 states and secure official write-in status in 25 additional states.[7] It was the fifth largest third party in terms of presidential ballot access in the 2012 presidential election.[8] On October 23, 2012, Anderson faced off with other third-party candidates Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, Jill Stein of the Green Party and Virgil Goode of the Constitution Party for a debate moderated by former CNN talk-show host Larry King.[2] The candidates met again to debate on November 5, 2012, this time moderated by Ralph Nader.[9] Rocky Anderson participated in three presidential debates on programs entitled "Expand the Debates" on the nationally televised Democracy Now![10][11][12][13][14][15]

The Justice Party released a statement endorsing Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic nomination rather than nominating its own candidate.[16] The party did not run candidates later during the 2016 presidential election or 2020 presidential election, because the party wanted to avoid contributing to a spoiler effect. In 2021, the Justice Party announced that it "plans to grow into a diverse majority political party". Founder Rocky Anderson said the party intended to replace either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.[17]

The party was terminated by the Federal Election Commission in 2018 pursuant to federal law due to its failure to file reports.[18] On January 17, 2024, the Justice Party Inc., a successor to the Justice Party, dissolved as a 527 organization.[19]

Ideology and positions

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The Justice Party was created with the motto "economic, environmental, and social justice for all".[2] The party was designed with the intention of shifting government back to a focus on the Constitution of the United States of America by removing the corrupting influence of money in politics.[2]

Economic justice

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The Justice Party supports fundamental campaign finance reform. The Justice Party supports a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood through Move to Amend. The party favored a progressive tax structure and wants to end tax cuts for the wealthy. The party supports green jobs and infrastructure programs. The Justice Party wants to provide tax relief for working people and to bolster Social Security, by reducing the percentage of compensation taxed for Social Security and Medicare, but eliminating the cap on payroll taxes. The party was pro-immigration reform, pro-breaking up too-large-to-fail banks, pro-reinstating Glass–Steagall, pro-government funded higher education and against subsidies to oil and gas companies.[20] The party also supports a pay-as-you-go, balanced budget approach.[21]

Environmental justice

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The Justice Party was for aggressive climate protection, opposed the Keystone Pipeline, and advocated for a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The Justice Party supports a ban on mountaintop removal mining and wants to strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency.[20]

Social justice

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The Justice Party supports a universal single payer health insurance system, an Equal Rights Amendment, marriage equality, ending wars of aggression, closing many military bases, reducing the budget, immigration reform, repealing the Patriot Act, protecting and rewarding whistleblowers and ending the War on Drugs. The party also advocated the prosecution of individuals whose illegal conduct led to the 2008 financial crisis.[20]

Election results

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Presidential elections

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Year Presidential candidate Vice presidential candidate Popular votes % Electoral votes Result Ballot access Notes Ref
2012 Rocky Anderson Luis J. Rodriguez 43,018
0.03%
0 Lost
145 / 538
[22]

In 2016, the Justice Party endorsed Bernie Sanders.

2012 presidential election results

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State Votes % Misc.
 Alabama No ballot access No ballot access
 Alaska No ballot access No ballot access
 Arizona 119 0.01% Write-in votes
 Arkansas No ballot access No ballot access
 California 992 0.01% Write-in votes
 Colorado 1,260 0.05%
 Connecticut 5,487 0.35%
 Delaware No ballot access No ballot access
 Florida 1,754 0.02%
 Georgia 154 0.00% Write-in votes
 Hawaii No ballot access No ballot access
 Idaho 2,499 0.38%
 Illinois 185 0.00% Write-in votes
 Indiana No ballot access No ballot access
 Iowa No ballot access No ballot access
 Kansas 95 0.01% Write-in votes
 Kentucky 60 0.00% Write-in votes
 Louisiana 1,368 0.07%
 Maine 62 0.01% Write-in votes
 Maryland 204 0.01% Write-in votes
 Massachusetts No ballot access No ballot access
 Michigan 5,147 0.11% On the Natural Law Party ballot-line
 Minnesota 1,996 0.07%
 Mississippi No ballot access No ballot access
 Missouri No ballot access No ballot access
 Montana 59 0.01% Write-in votes
 Nebraska No ballot access No ballot access
 Nevada No ballot access No ballot access
 New Hampshire No ballot access No ballot access
 New Jersey 1,726 0.05%
 New Mexico 1,174 0.15%
 New York 227 0.00% Write-in votes
 North Carolina No ballot access No ballot access
 North Dakota No ballot access No ballot access
 Ohio No ballot access No ballot access
 Oklahoma No ballot access No ballot access
 Oregon 3,384 0.19% On the Progressive Party ballot-line
 Pennsylvania 84 0.00% Write-in votes
 Rhode Island 416 0.09%
 South Carolina No ballot access No ballot access
 South Dakota No ballot access No ballot access
 Tennessee 2,639 0.11%
 Texas 426 0.01% Write-in votes
 Utah 5,335 0.52%
 Vermont No ballot access No ballot access
 Virginia 73 0.00% Write-in votes
 Washington 4,946 0.16%
 West Virginia 12 0.00% Write-in votes
 Wisconsin 112 0.00% Write-in votes
 Wyoming No ballot access No ballot access
Total 43,088 0.03%

Congressional elections

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Year Candidate Chamber State District Votes % Result Notes Ref
2012 Daniel Geery Senate Utah Class 1 7,444
0.81%
Lost [23]
2012 Torin Nelson House Utah 4th 0
0%
Lost withdrew before election [24][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Presidential Hopefuls Meet in Third Party Debate". PBS NewsHour Extra. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  2. ^ a b c d "The 'other' presidential debate: Third-party candidates make their cases". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  3. ^ Romboy, Dennis (2011-11-30). "Rocky Anderson forms Justice Party, plans to run for president". Deseret News. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  4. ^ "Justice Party Believes It Can Change American Politics through Social Movement". IVN.us. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  5. ^ "MIssion". JUSTICE PARTY. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  6. ^ Winger, Richard (December 29, 2011) "Justice Party qualifies for Mississippi ballot", Ballot Access News. Retrieved December 30, 2011. Archived May 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "MISC ARCHIVES – Rocky Anderson". Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  8. ^ Winger, Richard (October 1, 2012) "2012 Ballot Status for President" Ballot Access News. Retrieved November 1, 2012. Archived November 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Singer, Paul (November 5, 2012). "Nader's third-party debate raises alternate issues". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  10. ^ "Expanding the Debate–Watch Democracy Now!'s Full Three-Hour Special". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  11. ^ "Expand the Debate: This Is What Democracy Sounds Like". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Expanding the Debate with Third-Party Candidates Jill Stein, Virgil Goode, Rocky Anderson". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  13. ^ "WATCH: Full Expanding the Debate Special on Foreign Policy Featuring Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  14. ^ "Exclusive: As Obama and Romney Agree on Afghan War, Israel and Syria, Third Parties Give Alternative". Democracy Now!. Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  15. ^ In "Expand the Debate Special" Show, Third Party Candidates Conclude with Final Reflections, retrieved 2020-10-22
  16. ^ Wachtler, Mark (2016-01-22). "Opposition Left divided over Bernie Sanders". Opposition News. Retrieved 2016-05-09.
  17. ^ Dudley, Graham (March 25, 2021). "Justice Party, other 3rd parties seek renewed relevance in partisan America". KSL News. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  18. ^ Chacona, Deborah (October 17, 2018). "Administrative Termination" (PDF). Letter to David Jette. Washington, D.C.: Federal Election Commission. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  19. ^ Fox, Kate (January 17, 2024). "Form 8871 Political Organization Notice of Section 527 Status". IRS. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c "Policy of the Justice Party". The Justice Party's website. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011.
  21. ^ "Justice Party, other 3rd parties seek renewed relevance in partisan America".
  22. ^ "Socialist Party USA". Twitter. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  23. ^ "Utah Federal Senator". Daniel Geery. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2013-10-19.
  24. ^ "If you want a truly independent voice in Congress you need to vote for a truly Independent candidate! Vote Torin Nelson". Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
  25. ^ "2012 Candidate Filings". Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office. 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013.
General
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