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By Andrew Kingaking@hillsdale.netTwitter: @AndrewKingHDN

HILLSDALE In the 2016 presidential election, Americans were presented with two candidates.

Some refused to vote Republican or Democrat, and as a result, Libertarian party candidate, Gary Johnson, received a raft of support, pulling in around three percent of the vote in most states on Election Day; buoyed as high as 9.34 percent in his home state of New Mexico.

Those arent election-winning numbers, as evidenced by Donald Trumps Electoral College victory on November 8. But, the groundswell of support that Johnson received, has given Libertarians at the state and local level cause for celebration: the Libertarian Party has transitioned from a minor party to a major party in nine states, including Michigan.

The biggest difference is that youre automatically on the ballot. Otherwise, theres a very extensive and lengthy petition process to get on the ballot, said Norman Peterson, who is working with Sam Fry, of Hillsdale, among others, to finalize the formation of a Libertarian Party affiliate representing Hillsdale and Jackson Counties.

Peterson is a long time Libertarian who switched parties in the 1980s after reading economist and politician Harry Brownes book, Why Government Doesnt Work. Prior to his political conversion, Peterson had served as the Democratic Chairman for Michigans 11th District. In the newly formed affiliate, he is, again, serving as Chair.

In the intervening years, Peterson served as the director of a non-profit focused on launching charter schools. When he retired, he shifted his attention to full-time political engagement, and one of the first steps he took was reaching out to area Libertarians to gauge interest in forming a local affiliate.

Fry got an email from Peterson and responded that he would be interested. After an interest meeting featuring a presentation from State Chair, Bill Gelinau, the group began the push to officially affiliate in earnest.

The immediate step is now that weve gone through all the hoops provided by the state we have a name, we have bylaws, we have elected officers, we have delegates I simply need to draft and petition a letter to the State Executive Committee of the Libertarian Party, requesting to be accepted as an affiliate, Peterson said. With the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman helping me with every step of this, Im pretty optimistic that will be a formality.

And once formalities are out of the way, Fry believes that there is a large pool of liberty-minded individuals who are looking for an alternate to the increasingly polarized choice between the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Were going to allow people in this area to have a choice for an alternate candidate, Fry said. I think the goal would be to start running a slate of candidates for county-level and state-level office. To allow people to have a third choice, and I think, frankly, thats just about one of the most important things we can do to keep our democracy functioning.

The reality is that most people are going to be somewhere in the middle. Theyre going to agree with one party on the majority of things, but theyre also going have several issues where they disagree. I think that we need to recognize that in politics, theres a spot for people who dont perfectly conform to the ideology of either party and I think we need people who represent that.

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Hillsdale, Jackson form Libertarian Party affiliate - The Hillsdale Daily News