The Green Party needs only 5 percent of the national vote in order to have access to millions of dollars in federal campaign funding.
“We need five percent to represent,” said Julia Aires, a spokesperson for the National Green Party. “We are not trying to be the spoilers of this election, we just want to have our party in national debates and get the same media coverage that the two big parties receive.”
Aires, who has been a Florida Green Party member for three years, said media coverage has been a major issue for the party.
“Without much media coverage, you wouldn’t know the historical value of our candidates for president and vice president,” she said.
Atlanta native Cynthia Ann McKinney, the first black person to serve as congresswoman in the Georgia senate, is the Green Party’s presidential nominee.
Rosa Clemente, a hispanic woman from the Bronx, N.Y., the Green Party’s vice presidential nominee, is a community organizer, journalist and hip-hop activist.
“This has been a media whiteout,” said Brent McMillan, the political director of the National Green Party.
The term “whiteout,” refers to the lack of media attention the Green Party receives.
“The media uses their power not to give us any political coverage, and the other two parties have the same agenda,” McMillan said. “They use language that expresses progression, but it’s a ploy to take America over the cliff.”
Members of the party are encouraging students to get informed and get involved with their party in this election.
“The Green Party is the new imperative and students must get involved,” Aires said. “We are just a bunch of grassroots organizers that get up and tackle the problems of society without pay.”
Michael Canney, another Green Party spokesperson, said the Green Party is mainly looking to get public attention in this election.
“If we can just get one minute to speak about issues, we can get people to pay attention to us,” he said.
Canney also said he feels that McKinney and Clemente are two viable candidates, with real agendas.
For more information about the Green Party visit www.gp.org.