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Revision as of 18:42, 28 February 2005 by DJ Silverfish (talk | contribs) (added category link to US regional and state political parties)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The United Citizens Party (UCP) was first organized in 1969 in South Carolina in response to the state Democratic Party's opposition to nominating black candidates. The party's objective was to elect blacks to the legislature and local offices in counties with black majority populations. The party ran candidates in 1970 and 1972; as a result the first three black candidates were elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives since Reconstruction in 1970.
In South Carolina, as in New York and unlike most other states, a single candidate may be nominated by two or more legally separate political parties. This practice is called electoral fusion. Several South Carolina state legislators, who currently serve as Democrats, are co-nominated by the United Citizens Party.
Since the opening up of the state Democratic Party to black candidates, the party has mainly served as a means for various third party candidates to appear on the South Carolina Presidential ballot.
For a period of time in the 1990's the party used the name Patriot Party before returning to its original and current name.
In 2000, the UCP nominated Ralph Nader for President in South Carolina. He received 20,279 votes or about 1.46% of the total 1,384,253.
In 2004, the UCP chose to nominate the Socialist Party candidate Walt Brown for President. Brown 2124 votes or about 0.13% of the total 1,617,730. Ralph Nader appeared on the South Carolina ballot as an independent, receiving 5520 votes or 0.34%. David Cobb appeared on the new South Carolina Green Party ballot line and received 1488 votes or 0.09% of the statewide total.
Other political parties that have practiced fusion include the New York Conservative Party, the Working Families Party of New York and the New York Liberal Party. The American Labor Party was a historically important party in New York State which both practiced fusion and elected candidates independently.
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