This year's general election will be a historic one in PA. This will be the first election in recent history in which candidates other than Democrat or Republican will appear on the ballot for President and Vice President of the United States.

This year the Green Party candidates Jill Stein and Philadelphia’s Cheri Honkala are running for President and VP, respectively. They qualified for the ballot by turning in nearly 40,000 signatures of PA registered voters. 

In recent presidential elections (2004 & 2008) the Green Party candidates did qualify for the ballot, however the PA Democrat Party challenged the nominating petitions of the candidates, which resulted in them not appearing on the ballot. Similarly, the PA Republican Party is challenging 2 non-establishment party petitions this year.

The significance of finally being able to cast a ballot for an alternative this year should not be understated. Surprisingly, this news has not been widely reported in the mainstream media, so most PA voters are unaware of the additional choice they have this year.

These antiquated electoral laws that were designed to limit voter choices highlight the failure of our supposed American "democracy." The benefits of having a democacy are lost when there is either no choices, or limited choices of candidates who more often than not hold the same views on the issues.

Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala, are excellent candidates who will represent the 99% if elected. Neither the Green Party, nor their candidates acccept camapign contributions from corporations. This is in stark contrast to the D's and R's who are beholden the the 1% who fund their campaigns.

Stein and Honkala are proposing a Green New Deal, a fiscally responsible and sustainable plan to create jobs and rescue our economy. Voters can learn more about the Green New Deal at their website, http://www.jillstein.org/. In addition to making it onto the ballot in PA, Stein and Honkala will be on the ballot in about 40 states, and they have qualified for federal matching funds. These are huge accomplishments for candidates that rely on small donors and grassroots support.

Many people are hesitant about voting for 3rd-party candidates because they think the candidates have no chance at winning. My message to those voters is to point out that if all the un-affiliated voters formed their own party, they would be larger than the Democrat and Republican parties combined. These voters obviously feel disenfrachised by the D's and R's, so maybe its time for them to support an alternative this year.