Independence Party of Florida

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The Independence Party of Florida is a minor political party in Florida. The group is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla.[1] As of 2019, it was not a ballot-qualified party in Florida.

Note: This party was previously ballot-qualified in Florida. As of March 8, 2022, it is no longer ballot-qualified. The content here reflects the most current information as of March 8, 2022.

Background

Ballot access for political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States


As of June 2024, there were at least 53 distinct ballot-qualified political parties in the United States. There were 235 state-level parties.[2] Some parties are recognized in multiple states. For example, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are recognized in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. These two parties account for more than half of the 235 total state-level parties.[3][4][5] Three minor parties were recognized in more than 10 states as of June 2024:

  1. Libertarian Party: 38 states
  2. Green Party: 22 states[6]
  3. Constitution Party: 21 states[7]

Although there are dozens of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

The number of ballot-qualified political parties fluctuates as parties gain or lose qualified status. In addition, some states distinguish between major parties and minor parties. Specific differences between major and minor parties differ from state to state. For example, in all states, major parties are granted access to primary elections. Some states, however, do not permit minor parties to participate in primary elections. Consequently, minor party candidates in these states can run only in general elections.[3]

The table below lists all ballot-qualified political parties in each state as of June 2024. Click "[show]" to expand the table.[3]

Independence Party of Florida
IPFLlogo4web1.gif
Basic facts
Location:Jacksonville, Fla.
Type:Political party
Top official:Shauna Ayers, Chair
Year founded:1999
Website:Official website


The Independence Party of Florida (IPF) was organized in 1999 and registered as a minor political party in Florida in 2001. The group's original eight members grew to 5,018 members in 2002, 16,838 members in 2004, 39,791 members in 2006 and 63,415 members in 2008. The party supported its first IPF gubernatorial candidate, Peter L. Allen, in 2010. Allen finished third in the race with 2.3 percent of the statewide vote.[1][8][9]

Platform

The party's stated platform is composed of 10 main issues:[9]

  • Fiscal responsibility
    "Require Federal and State Government agencies, departments, and separately identified functions ( i.e. licenses, permits, water etc. ) in addition to government accounting, to provide detailed financial reports using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) used by private companies so that more citizens can understand government finances."
  • Voting
    "Set term limits for all elected officials, to include other offices not held by the current office holder. End the career politics, going from one office to the next."
  • Campaigns and financing
    "Eliminate campaign funding by PACs, unions, trade associations and corporations."
  • Education
    "Reduce the percentage of funds consumed by administration."
  • Criminal justice
    "Forbid criminals from suing or collecting damages from citizens or business for injuries during a criminal act, including injuries resulting from a victim’s attempts at self defense."
  • Health
    "Make individual medical insurance premiums and out of pocket medical costs deductible in computing income taxes."
  • Social welfare
    "Maintain a social safety net based on the goal of self sufficiency and self responsibility."
  • Business and economic development
    "Pursue balanced trade programs that promote the economic interest and welfare of all our citizens and safeguard our national security."
  • Environment, agriculture and natural resources
    "Protect our environmental heritage by supporting the conservation of natural resources."
  • Veterans
    "We call for America to honor its commitments, promises and its obligations to our veterans."

Rules and bylaws

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Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
See also: Rules of the Independence Party of Florida

The state party is governed by a set of rules and bylaws. Typically, these give structure to the different levels of organization—local, county, and state committees—and establish protocol for electing committee members. The bylaws also typically give details on the party's process for nominating and sending delegates to the national party convention during presidential elections. The following is a summary of the Independence Party of Florida's rules. This summary focuses on the structure and governance of the party:[9]

  • The party has four standing committees: the committee on operations, the committee on budget, planning and development, the committee on public relations and the committee on platform and public policy.
  • The state convention is the authoritative body of the party and meets at least once per year.
  • The state executive committee serves as the governing body of the party when the state convention is not in session.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Independence Party of Florida'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Independence Party of Florida - Google News

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Florida Department of State—Committee Tracking System, "Independence Party of Florida," accessed February 19, 2016
  2. ↑ This total does not include parties that have attained ballot status at the municipal level. Only those parties with state-level ballot status are included here.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jaime Healy-Plotkin, "Research of state election agency websites and email correspondence with state election agencies," June 2024
  4. ↑ As of June 2024, there were nine state-level parties that called themselves Independent or Independence parties. For the purposes of this article, these were not tallied when counting the number of distinct ballot-qualified parties in the United States because it is difficult to determine to what extent these various parties are affiliated with one another.
  5. ↑ Because Washington utilizes a top-two, nonpartisan primary system, the state does not officially recognize parties. Consequently, only the state's two largest parties, the Democratic and Republican parties, were included in this tally.
  6. ↑ This figure includes the D.C. Statehood Green Party, Maine's Green Independent Party, Oregon's Pacific Green Party, and West Virginia's Mountain Party.
  7. ↑ This figure includes Nevada's Independent American Party and Michigan's U.S. Taxpayers Party.
  8. ↑ Florida Department of State, "November 2, 2010 general election official results," accessed February 19, 2016
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Independence Party of Florida, "History," accessed February 19, 2016
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