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For Immediate Release
August, 12 2016, 10:30am EDT
Contact:
Meleiza Figueroa, Press Director, press@jill2016.com
Jill Stein and the Green Party Add More Ballot Lines This Week
WASHINGTON
Jill Stein and the Green Party filed their petitions for ballot access in 3 more states this week: Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Utah. The campaign is confirmed on the ballot in 28 states, and awaits state government confirmation in 7 others where we have filed in the last month. 12 more states have pending deadlines where we will be filing between now and September 9.
"The response to our petition drives have been heartening and inspiring," says Jill Stein. "People are so fed up with the corrupt two party system, and every day Trump's pronouncements turn off more and more voters. And they aren't turning to Clinton, whose ties to the 1% are so obvious and so repulsive."
In Connecticut, state Green Party leaders turned in 14,500 signatures. State law requires 7500 to be valid. In New Hampshire, over 7000 were turned in and 3000 need to be valid. The signatures in Utah had already been certified at the county level and the filing with the state was just a formality - 1000 valid signatures were submitted.
All three states have arcane election laws that require each county, town or municipality to validate signatures, forcing petitioners to carry separate petitions for each local government, and then to turn in the petition sheets to each municipality. In New Hampshire and Utah, organizers then have to go back to the clerks' offices, pick up the certified petitions, and turn them in again at the state capitol.
Campaign chair Gloria Mattera adds, "The enthusiasm for and success of our petition drives is proof that everyday Americans want more options on the ballot. It is time for us to demand open debates, not a rigged one sponsored by a commission controlled by the two major parties. Any candidate on the ballot in enough states to win the election needs to be in the debates."
Jill Stein is well on her way to having ballot access in at least 45 states. As of this writing, she is confirmed in AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DC, FL, HI, IL, IA, LA, ME, MD, MS, MI, MA, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, SC, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, and WI.
The Green Party of the United States is a grassroots national party. We're the party for "We The People," the health of our planet, and future generations instead of the One Percent.
(202) 319-7191LATEST NEWS
'Pure Incitement': Google Rebuked Over Israeli Sponsored Propaganda Aimed at Global Sumud Flotilla
"It is clear that Israel is paving the ground for an attack on the flotilla. World public opinion needs to mobilize against Israel’s next war crime. Now!"
Sep 20, 2025
Evidence posted over the weekend online appears to show that tech giant Google has allowed the government of Israel to purchase sponsored content spots so that online users searching on the Global Sumud Flotilla will be shown inaccurate, propagandized content accusing the flotilla particpants as being allied with violent, terrorist elements.
The Sumud Flotilla—a group of international humanitarians and peace activists sailing toward the coast of Gaza with over 40 vessels in its fleet as a way to break the unlawful blockade of life-saving supplies imposed by Israel and its allies amid an ongoing genocide—has no documented connection to any terrorist organization and has made clear repeatedly that it is a completely nonviolent effort by independent groups and individuals who want to see an end to the suffering, starvation, and death taking place in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
In Arabic, sumud translates as steadfastness and resilience. On its website, the groups says, "We are a coalition of everyday people—organizers, humanitarians, doctors, artists, clergy, lawyers, and seafarers—who believe in human dignity and the power of nonviolent action."
David Adler, an American economist and co-coordinator general of Progressive International who is traveling as part of the flotilla, posted a screenshot Saturday of search results showing the sponsored content, calling it "very terrifying." Many others online reported getting the same results, though the appearance of the sponsored content seemed to depend on the user's location or other variables.
Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece and co-founder of Progessive International, posted a similar screenshot earlier in the day, describing the coordinated ad buy as part of an escalating "smear campaign against the flotilla" by the Israeli government.
"First, they called it the Hamas Flotilla, deploying the usual tactic of slapping the Hamas logo on anyone whom they are about to murder, maim or mutilate," said Varoufakis. "Now, with the full cooperation of Google, they are ensuring that top search results—received by anyone who Googles ‘Global Sumud Flotilla’—identify the brave women and men who are sailing to Gaza to end the blockade and genocide of 2 million people are people 'harboring terror.' It is clear that Israel is paving the ground for an attack on the flotilla. World public opinion needs to mobilize against Israel’s next war crime. Now!"
DropSite News noted on Satuday that a team of its journalists reported earlier this month that Google "was in the middle of a six-month, $45 million contract with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to run ads and spread online propaganda, including on YouTube."
"A search for the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian convoy carrying aid to break the Gaza siege shows the Israeli government’s incitement as the top result," the outlet noted on Saturday, pointing to Adler's post. "The campaign has also promoted content denying the Gaza famine."
Earlier this week, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs characterized the flotilla—which has now been targeted at least twice by drone attacks—as a "jihadist initiative," which led to immediate concerns that Israel was trying to build a case in the arena of public opinion for what would eventually be an Israeli attack on the ships or an interdiction at sea.
On Tuesday, as Common Dreams reported, the foreign ministers of 16 nations—Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Ireland, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, and Türkiye—warned against "any unlawful or violent act against the flotilla” and called on all parties “to respect international law and international humanitarian law.”
The ministers said that "any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability.”
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'Important Victory' for Artists, Rule of Law, and Free Speech as Judge Rules Against Trump on NEA
"At a time when the government is using its full weight to try to impose ideological conformity," said an ACLU attorney, "this order is an important reminder that the First Amendment protects us from exactly that."
Sep 20, 2025
In another judicial rebuke to President Donald Trump's effort to harm funding for the nation's arts, a federal judge on Friday evening ruled against the president's insider attack on the National Endowment for the Arts by blocking grant applications from artists or organizations that don't strictly adhere to the president's right-wing ideology on gender.
Ruling in favor of several arts organizations that sued the NEA earlier this year over the policy change, US District Court Judge William E. Smith, appointed by President George W. Bush and serving in Rhode Island, said the grant restrictions ran afoul of federal statute and the US Constitution.
As the New York Times reports:
The lawsuit was filed in March by several arts organizations, including Rhode Island Latino Arts, which promotes art made by Latinos, and National Queer Theater, a New York company. It challenged new agency regulations, initially introduced in February, stating that federal funds “shall not be used to promote gender ideology,” which Mr. Trump’s order said includes “the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa.”
In the lawsuit, the groups, which said they had all produced or supported work about transgender and nonbinary people, argued that they would effectively be barred from seeking grants “on artistic merit and excellence grounds,” which violated their rights under the First Amendment.
In his ruling, Williams called the policy that came out of Trump's edict both “arbitrary and capricious,” one that violated not only free speech protections but also the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which governs the EPA grant-making process.
Smith held that the NEA’s grant application review process “violates the First Amendment because it is a viewpoint-based restriction on private speech.”
Specifically, the judge said the government's policy "offered zero explanation" to applicants "of what it means for a project to ‘promote gender ideology,’ let alone how that concept relates to artistic merit, artistic excellence, general standards of decency, or respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public.”
"The NEA intends to disfavor applications that promote gender ideology precisely because they promote gender ideology," Smith stated in his judicial order. "The Final Notice therefore promises to penalize artists based on their speech.”
The lawsuit was brought four groups: Rhode Island Latino Arts (RILA), National Queer Theater (NQT), The Theater Offensive (TTO), and Theatre Communications Group (TCG).
Marta V. Martínez, RILA's executive director, said the court's ruling "affirms what we have always believed: the freedom to create, to express one’s truth, and to tell our stories is a right protected by the First Amendment."
"As an organization deeply rooted in storytelling, theater, and the preservation of cultural history," Martínez added, "we are relieved and grateful that the courts have recognized the importance of protecting artistic expression for all people, including those in LGBTQ+ communities.”
The ACLU, which had helped bring the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs, celebrated the ruling as "an important victory" for artists, free speech, and the rule of law.
"At a time when the government is using its full weight to try to impose ideological conformity, this order is an important reminder that the First Amendment protects us from exactly that," Vera Eidelman, senior staff attorney with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project. "Even when the government funds private speech, it does not get to support only those messages that parrot its views."
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Trump's New Restrictions on Pentagon Reporters 'Should Alarm Every American'
"If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting," warned the National Press Club after journalists told of rule changes.
Sep 20, 2025
Journalists and defenders of press freedom are expressing alarm and condemnation after the Pentagon, under the command of President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, announced new restrictions on reporters that include pre-approval of stories that include even unclassified material and a new pledge to not publish any material without permissions from government officials.
The New York Times, among the first to report on a 17-page memo detailing the new rules, noted how the "move could drastically restrict the flow of information about the U.S. military to the public." The National Press Club (NPC) was quick to rebuke the restrictions as an assault on the public's right to know and fundamental journalistic freedoms.
“The Pentagon is now demanding that journalists sign a pledge not to obtain or report any information—even if unclassified—unless it has been expressly authorized by the government," said Mike Balsamo, president of the NPC, in a statement. "This is a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the U.S. military."
Balsamo continued:
For generations, Pentagon reporters have provided the public with vital information about how wars are fought, how defense dollars are spent, and how decisions are made that put American lives at risk. That work has only been possible because reporters could seek out facts without needing government permission.
If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.
Independent reporting on the military is essential to democracy. It is what allows citizens to hold leaders accountable and ensures that decisions of war and peace are made in the light of day. This pledge undermines that principle, and the National Press Club calls on the Pentagon to rescind it immediately.
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, explained to the Times that the government is prohibited by law from demanding journalists surrender their right to investigate the government in exchange for access or credentials.
“This policy operates as a prior restraint on publication which is considered the most serious of First Amendment violations,” Stern said. “The government cannot prohibit journalists from public information merely by claiming it’s a secret or even a national security threat.”
In comments to the Washington Post, Katie Fallow, deputy litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, called the new policy part of “the Trump administration’s broader assault on free speech and press freedom.”
Any journalist, she added, "who publishes only what the government ‘authorizes’ is doing something other than reporting."
Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor at Princeton University, put it this way: "In Trump’s Pentagon, journalists who venture beyond reporting official propaganda now risk having their credentials revoked."
Individual journalists, including veteran reporters who have covered the Pentagon for years or decades, also chimed in.
Konstantin Toropin, the Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press, expressed alarm and dismay at the new restrictions.
"The Pentagon, which has claimed to [have] aspirations of being the most transparent in history, is once again cracking down on basic press access," Toropin said in a social media post. "Denying access to the Pentagon makes covering our military, our troops, and our actions abroad harder. Full stop."
Toropin said the rule forbidding the unapproved release of unclassified material, sometimes marked with the acronym "CUI," is "an incredibly broad and ill-defined rule that could be easily abused."
As his colleague Brian Everstine, the Pentagon editor at Aviation Week, noted:
At a time when Trump is being accused of severe abuses of power, including a series of attacks on alleged illegal drug runners in the Caribbean Sea, which international law experts have condemned as "extrajudicial executions," further restrictions on the ability of journalists to report on the internal workings of the president's military operations are seen as particularly dangerous.
Barbara Starr, who worked as CNN's chief Pentagon correspondent for many years who is now a senior fellow at the University of Southern California Annenberg Center for Communication, Leadership and Policy, told ABC News that the entire effort "is extremely troubling because it's being done in an era of unprecedented public hostility from the secretary of defense to the news media."
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