The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

political party in the United States which operates mostly in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It was formed in 1966 from anti–

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and pro–civil rights movements. PFP operates both as an organization unto itself and an umbrella organization in which socialist organizations compete to win PFP's

ballot access Ballot access is rules and procedures regulating the right to candidacy, the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots in elections in the United States. The jurisprudence o ...

. Notable past and present members include

Bob Avakian Robert Bruce Avakian (born March 7, 1943) is an American political activist and Maoist philosopher who is the founder and chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (RCP). Early life Avakian was born on March 7, 1943, in Washington, ...

Emmy Lou Packard Emmy Lou Packard, (1914–1998) also known as Betty Lou Packard, was an American visual artist and social activist in San Francisco, California. She was known for her paintings, printmaking, and murals, which were often political. Early life a ...

, Byron Randall, and (briefly)

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

Organization

Members

In January 2000, PFP had 75,277 registered voters. In February 2005, PFP had 67,238 registered voters. In January 2010, PFP had 55,036 registered voters. In January 2016, PFP had 75,579 registered voters. In February 2019, PFP had 76,784 registered voters. In February 2021, PFP had 105,535 registered voters. In January 2024, PFP had 133,914 registered voters.

Preference primaries

Like many minor parties, PFP holds a non-binding "preference primary" for President. The PFP presidential candidate is ultimately selected by the PFP State Convention, at which only State Executive Committee (SEC) members can vote. The SEC is directly elected through write-ins in the California primary system every two years. The SEC had about 130 members in 2024 and 90 in 2008. Since January 2001, California has had a "modified" closed primary system in which political parties can determine whether or not to allow voters who are not affiliated with any party, or No Party Preference, are allowed to participate in the party's primary. Since the 2004 primaries, PFP has never allowed "independent" voters to vote in their party's primaries.

Ideology

PFP is a

party "committed to feminism, ..democracy, ecology, and racial equality", PFP strongly supports

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

, indigenous rights,

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

public healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

, and

subsidized housing Subsidized housing is a subsidy aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housing". Forms of subsidies include d ...

. PFP is

Anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

History

Founding

After the

1967 Century City anti-Vietnam War march The 1967 Century City anti-Vietnam War march, also known as the 1967 Century City police riot, was an anti-Vietnam War protest march which took place on June 23, 1967, in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Beginning with a demonstra ...

on June 23, 1967, anti-war and civil rights supporters began collecting petitions for the Peace and Freedom Party. PFP's founders opposed the Democratic Party's support for the war in Vietnam and saw the Democrats as failing to effectively support the civil rights movement. On January 2, 1968, PFP organizers submitted 105,100 signatures to receive party status in California. PFP has had ballot access in California since 1968, except between 1998 and 2002. In 2003, PFP became the first party in the history of California to regain its ballot status. In 1968, PFP suffered a minor split:

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, writer, activist and social critic. His books were bestsellers. Gregory became popular among the African-American communities in the southern U ...

and others split to create the Freedom and Peace Party (FPP), for which Gregory ran in the

1968 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 5, 1968. The Republican ticket of former vice president Richard Nixon and Maryland governor Spiro Agnew, defeated both the Democratic ticket of incumbent vice president Huber ...

. The FPP collapsed after the 1968 election. In 1971, progressives nationwide organized the People's Party. In 1972 and 1976, PFP endorsed the PP's candidates. After the PP dissolved in 1977, PFP continued in California. In the

2006 California elections The California state elections, 2006 took place on November 7, 2006. Necessary primary elections were held on June 6. Among the elections that took place were all the seats of the California's State Assembly, 20 seats of the State Senate, seve ...

, two statewide Peace and Freedom Party candidates received more than the required vote, thus ensuring the party's ballot status for another four years ( Elizabeth Cervantes Barron received 212,383 votes, 2.5% of the total, for Controller; and Tom Condit received 187,618 votes, 2.2% of the total, for Insurance Commissioner). California's 2018 gubernatorial primary had statewide office candidates registered in the party. In the race for Insurance Commissioner, Peace and Freedom candidate Nathalie Hrizi received 316,149 votes, 5.0% of the total.

Election results

The PFP has fielded over 200 electoral candidates in the United States for

local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, and federal offices. PFP candidates usually run as official PFP candidates on their own ballot line. No PFP candidate has yet won a contested election.

Presidential elections

Convention votes: In 2016, both PFP's California state chair and

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

candidate

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and perennial candidate who was the Green Party of the United States, Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the Jill Stein 2012 presidential campaign ...

requested that the California Secretary of State allow Stein to be placed on the PFP party ballot, but this was rejected. Instead, PFP nominated

Party for Socialism and Liberation The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party, communist political party in the United States, political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party. PSL describes it ...

candidate

Gloria La Riva Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954) is an American perennial political candidate and communist activist with the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) and the Peace and Freedom Party. She was the PSL's nominee and the Peace and Freedo ...

. In 2012,

Rocky Anderson Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson II (born September 9, 1951) is an American attorney, writer, activist, and civil and human rights advocate. He served two terms as the 33rd List of mayors of Salt Lake City, Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, from 2000 to ...

won a plurality of delegates in PFP's non-binding preference primary, after failing to win enough votes to place his Justice Party on the ballot. However, Anderson failed to win representatives on the PFP's Central Committee, and withdrew 1 week before the convention. Instead, PFP backed

's preferred candidate

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...

. In 2008, PFP endorsed Independent

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American lawyer and political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a Perennial candidate, perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book '' ...

in his

presidential campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referen ...

. Nader obtained enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Iowa and Utah as the Peace and Freedom Party candidate. This was the first expansion of the party beyond California since the 1970s. However, PFP did not obtain enough votes to guarantee ballot access in Iowa or Utah in subsequent elections. In 2000, PFP did not qualify for the ballot in California. In 1988, three factions within PFP — the Internationalist Workers Party,

New Alliance Party The New Alliance Party (NAP) was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the Coalition of Gr ...

, and

Socialist Party USA The Socialist Party of the United States of America (also Socialist Party USA or SPUSA) is a socialist political party in the United States. SPUSA formed in 1973, one year after the Socialist Party of America splintered into three: Social De ...

plus

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

— sought the party's ballot line. They could not agree, and split the convention, which resulted in the Secretary of State voiding the PFP ballot line for the year.

Congressional elections

Statewide elections

National conventions

Notes

References

External links

*
The Real and Slightly Expurgated History of the PFP (through 2008)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peace And Freedom Party Political parties in California 1967 establishments in the United States Anti–Vietnam War groups Democratic socialist parties in the United States Feminist political parties in the United States Non-interventionist parties Pacifist parties Political parties established in 1967 Socialist feminist organizations in the United States Regional and state political parties in the United States Political parties in the United States State and local socialist parties in the United States Socialist feminist parties