Maryland Green Party Secures Ballot Access After Hitting 2% Threshold

Andy Ellis and Cathy White failed to unseat incumbent Wes Moore in the Maryland gubernatorial race, but their performance secured a critical administrative victory for their parties. As of Thursday afternoon, Ellis, the Green Party candidate, had accumulated 2.06% of the vote. White, representing the Working Class Party, had garnered 1.97%. These totals comfortably exceed the 1% threshold required for a third party to maintain official recognition by the Maryland State Board of Elections.

The result ends a pattern of lost status for both organizations. In recent cycles, neither party had cleared the 1% mark for the highest office on the ballot. When a party falls below that level, it loses its recognized status. To regain access to the ballot, the party must collect 10,000 signatures from registered voters. Ellis noted that this process is time intensive and diverts energy from other party building efforts.

Ellis described his campaign as a scrappy, DIY effort. He stated that the focus was on showing up for working class Marylanders rather than dictating an agenda to voters. He said in a statement that securing ballot access gives the Maryland Green Party the space to identify, train, and support new candidates in multiple races throughout the state.

The 2026 numbers represent a clear jump from previous elections. In 2022, the Green Party ticket led by Nancy Wallace and Patrick Elder earned 0.73% of the vote. The Working Class Party ticket, which included David Harding and White, received 0.86%. In 2018, the Green Party ticket headed by Ian Schlakman and Annie Chambers captured 0.5% of the vote. The Working Class Party did not run a gubernatorial ticket that year.

This year, the Green Party also fielded candidates for Congress, the General Assembly, the Howard County executive post, and a Charles County commissioner seat. The Working Class Party ran candidates for the General Assembly. While Democrat Wes Moore won the governor’s race with nearly 63% of the vote and Republican Dan Cox received 33%, the third-party totals determined the future of ballot access for 2030.