The Coalition for Free and Open Elections (COFOE) is a nonpartisan organization in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

that aims to promote fair ballot access. COFOE was founded in 1985, when representatives from across the political spectrum met in the New York City law office of former U.S. Attorney General

Ramsey Clark William Ramsey Clark (December 18, 1927 – April 9, 2021) was an American lawyer, activist, and United States Federal Government, federal government official. A progressive, New Frontier liberal, he occupied senior positions in the United States ...

. Participants in the early days of COFOE included political independents and members of the Citizens Party; the Communist Party; the Libertarian Party; the New Alliance Party; the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a Political parties in the United States, political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movemen ...

; and the

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 ...

. One of the early chairs of COFOE was Socialist David McReynolds, who was succeeded by Ann Rosenhaft and then by

Si Gerson Simon W. Gerson (January 23, 1909 – December 26, 2004) was a leader in the Communist Party USA. In particular, he was considered its leading expert on campaigns and election. He was the party's appointee to fill the New York City Council vacanc ...

of the Communist Party. It has largely been due to the steadfast work of Richard Winger, editor and publisher of ''

Ballot Access News ''Ballot Access News'' is a United States–based website and monthly online and print newsletter edited and published by Bill Redpath and Richard Winger. History Richard Winger, an expert on ballot access law in the United States, started t ...

'', that COFOE has survived, and grown, as an organization. COFOE has filed amicus briefs in numerous court cases relating to ballot access. As of August 2021, members of COFOE include the

American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is an United States, American Christian democracy, Christian democratic List of political parties in the United States, political party. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party ...

; the Constitution Party;

FairVote FairVote is a 501(c)(3) organization and lobbying group in the United States. It was founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional representation in American elections. Its focus chan ...

; the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

; Independent Voting; the Libertarian Party; the Prohibition Party; the Reform Party, and the Socialist Party USA.

Related organizations

In the late 1990s a national ballot access organization with a focus similar to that of COFOE held several meetings in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, area, attended by members of the Green Party, Libertarian Party,

Natural Law Party The Natural Law Party (NLP) is a transnational party founded in 1992 on "the principles of Transcendental Meditation", the laws of nature, and their application to all levels of government. At its peak, it was active in up to 74 countries; it co ...

, Reform Party, Socialist Party USA, various independents, and others. This new national ballot access coalition discussed the possibility of formally constituting a tax-exempt civic organization for purposes of ballot access litigation and education; at one point some participants in this group considered borrowing the COFOE name.

External links

* {{activism-stub Elections in the United States Election and voting-related organizations based in the United States