The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) has existed starting in 1985. It is a loose coalition of nationally-organized minor parties and other groups that support fair play for independent candidates and minor parties. Recently the Prohibition Party re-joined the COFOE board. The other members are the Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Reform, and Socialist Parties; Fairvote; and CUIP.
The Prohibition Party had also been on the board in the past. COFOE obtains small donations from many individuals, and uses most of the money to help pay for lawsuits that benefit independent candidates, and sometimes lawsuits that benefit minor parties. Individual members of COFOE receive a free copy of Ballot Access News.
This year, COFOE donated $2,000 to the plaintiffs in the Alabama lawsuit that challenged the March petition deadline. If COFOE had more revenue, it could help more lawsuits. To see COFOE minutes of past annual board meetings, see www.cofoe.org.
When did the Drys leave COFOE and why?
The party went into hard times in the 1990’s and 2000’s decade because of internal disagreements.
Wonder why the other parties aren’t members? As I recall COFOE dues aren’t that much.
Richard- by “hard times” are you referring to the internal battle between Earl Dodge and his faction and just about everybody else? Did the Dodge faction make the decision to pull out?
It wasn’t so much a matter of “pulling out” as just failing to send anyone to the board meetings and not bothering to pay the dues.
I am starting the Independent & Third-Party Debate Commission. We will be holding 20 – 30 debates throughout next year and will be streaming them live on the internet, and hopefully have local news affiliates carry them on TV in the localities where the debates will occur.