Falls Church, VA (September 19) : The Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) confirmed earlier this month to the Green Party of Virginia (GPVA) that it had successfully petitioned to place its presidential and vice-presidential candidates on the Virginia ballot this November.

In July, the Green Party nominated for president Cynthia McKinney, a former six-term Representative from Georgia, and for vice-president Rosa Clemente, a hip-hop activist and journalist. The Green Party ticket of McKinney and Clemente marks the first time in U.S. history that a political party nominated a slate of women of color for president and vice-president.

Upon achieving ballot access, Josh Ruebner, Press Secretary of the GPVA stated, "By being on the ballot in Virginia, the Green Party and Cynthia McKinney are offering voters a real alternative this year to the corporate duopoly of Democrats and Republicans, parties which have steered our country in the wrong direction on so many issues. The reason why so many citizens don't vote is because the political system in this country is broken with Democrats and Republicans presenting voters with a very narrow spectrum of opinion which fails to speak to their needs."

Audrey Clement, Co-Chair of the GPVA, added, "Cynthia McKinney's platform addresses the needs of the people of Virginia. We need money for universal, single-payer health care in this country rather than spending $720 million per day to occupy Iraq and Afghanistan. We need to develop alternative energy sources, not continue down the dangerous path of mountaintop removal for additional coal-fired electrical plants as is happening in Wise County. We need to invest in mass transit and education, guaranteed affordable housing, and a living wage for all Virginians to combat the state's increased levels of poverty."

Members of the Virginia Green Party collected more than 10,000 valid signatures from Virginia voters, including at least 400 from each Congressional district, to place McKinney and Clemente on the Virginia ballot. The Green Party's presidential and vice-presidential candidates last appeared on Virginia's ballot in the 2000 elections.

Additional information on the McKinney/Clemente Green Party ticket can be found at: http://www.runcynthiarun.org
Additional information on the Green Party of the United States can be found at: http://www.gp.org
Additional information on the Virginia Green Party can be found at: http://vagreenparty.org/
GPVA Press Secretary: Miriam Gennari