§11-62  Qualification of political parties;
petition.  (a)  Any group of persons hereafter desiring to qualify as a
political party for election ballot purposes in the State shall file with the
chief election officer a petition as provided in this section.  The petition
for qualification as a political party shall:



(1)  Be filed not later than 4:30 p.m. on the one
hundred seventieth day prior to the next primary;



(2)  Declare as concisely as may be the intention of
signers thereof to qualify as a statewide political party in the State and
state the name of the new party;



(3)  Contain the name, signature, residence address,
date of birth, and other information as determined by the chief election
officer of currently registered voters comprising not less than one-tenth of
one per cent of the total registered voters of the State as of the last
preceding general election;



(4)  Be accompanied by the names and addresses of the
officers of the central committee and of the respective county committees of
the political party and by the party rules; and



(5)  Be upon the form prescribed and provided by the
chief election officer.



(b)  The petition shall be subject to hearing
under chapter 91, if any objections are raised by the chief election officer or
any other political party.  All objections shall be made not later than 4:30
p.m. on the twentieth business day after the petition has been filed.  The
chief election officer may extend the objection period up to an additional ten
business days, if the group of persons desiring to qualify as a political party
is provided with notice of extension and the reasons therefor.  If no
objections are raised by 4:30 p.m. on the twentieth business day, or the
extension thereof, the petition shall be approved.  If an objection is raised,
a decision shall be rendered not later than 4:30 p.m. on the thirtieth day
after filing of the objection or not later than 4:30 p.m. on the one hundredth
day prior to the primary, whichever shall first occur.



(c)  The chief election officer may check the
names of any persons on the petition to see that they are registered voters and
may check the validity of their signatures.  The petition shall be public
information upon filing.



(d)  Each group of persons desiring to qualify
as a political party, having first qualified as a political party by petition
under this section, and having been qualified as a political party for three
consecutive general elections by petition or pursuant to section 11-61(b),
shall be deemed a political party for the following ten-year period.  The
ten-year period shall begin with the next regularly scheduled general election;
provided that each party qualified under this section shall continue to field
candidates for public office during the ten-year period following qualification. 
After each ten-year period, the party qualified under this section shall either
remain qualified under the standards set forth in section 11-61, or requalify
under this section 11-62. [L 1970, c 26, pt of §2; am L 1973, c 217, §1(p); am
L 1983, c 34, §4; am L 1986, c 323, §2; am L 1993, c 304, §4; am L 1997, c 287,
§2; am L 1998, c 33, §1; am L 1999, c 205, §2]