The Massachusetts Libertarian Party is ballot-qualified, and it could keep its status through 2012 by running a candidate for any statewide office this year. Although the law requires that one of the party’s statewide nominees poll 3%, it is a virtual certainty that the Libertarian Party could easily meet this test for an office like State Treasurer. Generally, Republicans don’t run anyone for State Treasurer. In 2006, when only the Democratic and Green Parties had a candidate for Treasurer, the Green Party polled 16.45% for that office. The Green Party also polled 17.75% for Secretary of State, another office that Republicans didn’t run for.

However, the Massachusetts Libertarian Party is not running anyone for any statewide office this year. As a result, the party will lose its place on the voter registration form. It will lose its 2012 presidential primary. And it will be required to circulate a difficult petition for the party’s presidential nominee.

The Massachusetts Libertarian Party says it can’t find anyone who wants to run for statewide office this year. It is true that if any candidate emerged, he or she would need 5,000 signatures to get on the Libertarian Party’s primary ballot, and only registered Libertarians and registered independents could sign. This is a tough requirement, but over half of all Massachusetts registered voters are registered independents, so it isn’t as bad as it might seem at first.

It is possible a lawsuit could be won against the state’s difficult petition requirements for getting candidates on the primary ballot of a small party, but if the Massachusetts Libertarian Party loses its qualified status, it won’t have standing to pursue such a lawsuit. Currently, the only qualified parties in Massachusetts are the Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian Parties, so no other party has standing to bring such a lawsuit.