The Democratic Party has been told to pay the North Carolina Green Party’s legal fees because they got involved in the third party’s fight for the vote in 2022 in a “frivolous” and “unreasonable” way.
US District Chief Judge James Dever III, who was selected by George W. Bush, told the NC Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee they had to pay $6,525 in attorney fees that the Green Party of North Carolina had to pay. At first, the Green Party asked the intervenors to pay $59,268.75 in attorney fees.
The fight for access to the ballot began when, in 2022, the Green Party was not publicly recognized as a political party, even though it had gathered all the signatures needed to become one. The NC Board of Elections was sued by the Green Party in 2022 because they were not allowed to be on the midterm ballots. The board wouldn’t let Green Party candidates, like US Senate candidate Matthew Hoh, get on the ticket because they weren’t recognized as a political party.
The Green Party had more than 2,000 more forms than they needed, but the Democrats on the state board said there might have been fraud. Both the NC Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee were named as defendants a few days after the suit was filed. Audio showed that Democrats supposedly called Green Party members and asked them to take down their signatures.
Then, four months after the Green Party was approved by the state board, the two Democratic groups filed an emergency move to keep the Green Party from being on the North Carolina general election ballot. Judge Dever said that the filing limit would not apply to two Green Party candidates because it had already passed. This meant that they could be on the ballot.
The Green Party says the Democrats’ “actions were frivolous, unreasonable, or without foundation,” which means they can ask for legal fees.
Oliver Hall, the lawyer for the Green Party, said, “This is a huge victory that was never about money.” “It was about holding the Democrats responsible for their wrong and pointless attempts to stop North Carolina voters from making their choice.”
People from the NC Democratic Party and the NC Green Party did not reply to requests for comment. With about 50,000 registered voters, the North Carolina Libertarian Party is the state’s biggest third party. They praised this week’s decision and called it a “resounding legal defeat.”
The chair of the North Carolina Libertarian Party, Ryan Brown, said, “The uniparty consistently shows its stripes when it comes to true accountability to the people through the ballot box.” Brown’s party has been fighting against democracy for decades with policies like gerrymandering, protectionist ballot access, and aggressive campaigns against third parties. “We’re hoping, but not sure, that this public scolding will make the Democrats and even the Republicans think about what their values are and how far they have let them down in their quest for power.” We don’t like it when the government gets involved in solving problems, but we thank the judge for his decision. It gives the Green Party some justice after the Democrats’ unfair and controlling case.
Protecting the ballot isn’t just important for the Green Party. Dean Phillips was a Democrat who tried to run against Joe Biden, but North Carolina Democrats worked to keep him off the March primary vote in North Carolina. Before the primary, Democratic leaders in North Carolina are supposed to give the state board a list of candidates. However, Biden was the only name that was sent.
There won’t be a presidential primary because the Democratic Party of Florida said so. In America, they gave all the votes to Joe Biden without a vote,” Phillips said in a campaign video at the time. “Then North Carolina did the same thing—not following their own rules, by the way—deciding on their own that they would only put one name on the ballot.”
