New York State Right to Life Party

The New York State Right to Life Party was a minor American political party that has been active only in the state of New York that was founded to oppose the legalization of abortion in New York in 1970.

New York State Right to Life Party
Founded1970 (1970)
Membership (2006)40,278
IdeologyAnti-abortion
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411

The Right-to-Life Party's was unsuccessful in their goal; abortion was legalized in New York in 1970 and has remained so there ever since, and the United States Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion nationally in 1973.

History

In 1970 the Right to Life Party was formed in New York following the decriminalization of abortion in New York. The party attempted to run a gubernatorial ticket made up of Jane Gilroy and Marcia Pilsner and obtained 14,062 signatures, 2,000 more than the 12,000 needed to receive ballot access.[1][2] However, Secretary of State John P. Lomenzo rejected the petition and the decision was upheld by the state supreme court.[3]

The party first made the state ballot in the 1978 gubernatorial election, where its candidate Mary Jane Tobin won 130,000 votes. Its share of the vote subsequently declined, although it maintained official ballot status until 2002, when it fell short of the 50,000 votes required to remain on the ballot. In 2006, the party endorsed Reverend Jennifer Liese for Governor. Liese's signatures were disputed by a Republican staffer, Rachel L. Bledi.[4] As of November 2006 there were 40,278 members statewide.[5] The party did not endorse a gubernatorial candidate in 2010, though it has been able to get two state supreme court nominees onto the ballot via the petition process.

In 1980 Ronald Reagan attempted to gain the extra ballot access line provided by the party, but was rejected after refusing to agree to the terms that he must choose a pro-life vice presidential candidate, endorse Al D'Amato against Jacob Javits in the Republican Senate primary, and to only endorse Republicans who supported an anti-abortion constitutional amendment.[6] The party ran Ellen McCormack, who had ran in the 1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries, in the 1980 presidential election and received 32,327 votes nationally and 24,159 in New York; Reagan won the state against Carter by 165,459 without the extra ballot line. In 1984 the party refused to run or endorse any candidate for president by a vote of 27,000 to 22,000.[7] The leadership of the party criticized and stated that Reagan was not pro-life enough due to his stance on abortion as governor of California and for having George H. W. Bush as his running mate.[8] In 1992 despite having refused to give Reagan its ballot line due to George H. W. Bush being his vice president the party, but the chairwoman of the party stated that his vetoes of abortion rights bills made them willing to give him their nomination.[9]

In 1996 the party gave its ballot line to Constitution Party candidate Howard Phillips which was the only time the party has appeared on the New York presidential ballot.

On August 18, 2000 the party voted to give Reform nominee Patrick Buchanan an additional ballot line for the presidential election, over George W. Bush who had given them no response and Howard Phillips, which was accepted on September 23.[10][11]

Electoral performance

Presidential
YearPresidential nomineeVice presidential nomineeVotesChange
1980Ellen McCormackCarroll Driscoll32,327 (0.04%)
1984No nomineeNo nominee0 (0.00%) 0.04%
1988William A. MarraJoan Andrews20,504 (0.02%) 0.02%
1992George H. W. Bush[lower-alpha 1]Dan Quayle127,959 (1.85%)[lower-alpha 2] 1.83%
1996Howard Phillips[lower-alpha 3]Herbert Titus23,580 (0.37%)[lower-alpha 4] 1.46%
2000Pat Buchanan[lower-alpha 5]Ezola Foster25,175 (0.37%)[lower-alpha 6]

Gubernatorial
YearGubernatorial nomineeLieutenant gubernatorial nomineeVotesChange
1978Mary Jane TobinEllen McCormack130,193 (2.73%)
1982Robert BohnerPaul Callahan52,356 (1.00%) 1.73%
1986Denis DillonThomas Droleskey130,827 (3.05%) 2.05%
1990Louis WeinGertrude Manning137,804 (3.40%) 0.35%
1994Robert T. WalshVirginia Sutton67,750 (1.30%) 2.10%
1998Michael J. ReynoldsKaren Prior56,683 (1.20%) 0.10%
2002Gerald CroninStasia T. Vogel44,195 (0.97%) 0.28%
2006Jennifer S. LieseWendy Holibaugh(no ballot access) 0.97%

Comptroller
YearNomineeVotesChange
1998Douglas H. Harknett70,397 (1.59%)
2002Garifalia Christea61,464 (1.48%) 0.11%

Attorney general
YearNomineeVotesChange
1998Robert W. Dapelo60,399 (1.40%)
2002John J. Broderick78,268 (1.89%) 0.49%

Voter Registration
YearRV.%Change
199645,772(0.45%)[12]
199748,855(0.46%) 0.01%[13]
199850,600(0.47%) 0.01%[14]
199951,856(0.48%) 0.01%[15]
200053,107(0.47%) 0.01%[16]
200150,033(0.45%) 0.02%[17]
200249,482(0.44%) 0.01%[18]
200346,827(0.43%) 0.01%[19]
200446,026(0.39%) 0.04%[20]
200541,268(0.36%) 0.03%[21]
200640,278(0.35%) 0.01%[22]

See also

Notes
  1. Endorsed Republican Party nominee
  2. Total only for New York state
  3. Endorsed U.S. Taxpayers Party nominee
  4. Total only for New York state
  5. Endorsed Reform Party nominee
  6. Total only for New York state

References
  1. "5 Minor Parties File for Elections". The Ithaca Journal. 22 August 1970. p. 7. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Anti Abortion, A L.I. Mother Runs for Gov". Daily News. 23 August 1970. p. 58. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Buckley Second Line Approved for Ballot". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 22 September 1970. p. 9. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Objections! Mystery Solved". 29 August 2006. Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006.
  5. "NOVEMBER 2006 REGISTRATION TOTALS". Ballot Access News. 1 January 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019.
  6. "PRO-LIFE ZEALOTRY". Longview News-Journal. 1 July 1980. p. 4. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "State Right to Life Party won't nominate presidential candidate". The Ithaca Journal. 10 September 1984. p. 11. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Right to Life Party debates Reagan endorsement". The Ithaca Journal. 9 September 1984. p. 5A. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Right to Life Party backs Bush". The Ithaca Journal. 31 August 1992. p. 5. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Better Late Than Never". The Times-Tribune. 24 September 2000. p. 6. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Right to Life Party endorses Buchanan". The Ithaca Journal. 21 August 2000. p. 5. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "New York Registered Voters 1996" (PDF).
  13. "New York Registered Voters 1997" (PDF).
  14. "New York Registered Voters 1998" (PDF).
  15. "New York Registered Voters 1999" (PDF).
  16. "New York Registered Voters 2000" (PDF).
  17. "New York Registered Voters 2001" (PDF).
  18. "New York Registered Voters 2002" (PDF).
  19. "New York Registered Voters 2003" (PDF).
  20. "New York Registered Voters 2004" (PDF).
  21. "New York Registered Voters 2005" (PDF).
  22. "New York Registered Voters 2006" (PDF).
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