Green Party of California

The Green Party of California (GPCA) was established as a ballot-qualified political party in California in 1991, using the petition method of gaining state recognition.

GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States, and is the largest state Green Party in the United States, with approximately 139,000 registered members as of February 2007.

Organized around the ten key values of the American Green movement, GPCA has local chapters in most California counties.

To maintain qualified status in California, a party must have registered voters equal to or more than 1 percent of the number of votes cast in the previous gubernatorial election or by The statewide race method in which a party may retain its ballot status by receiving at least 2 percent in any of seven statewide races.

In 1994 Margaret Garcia received 3.8 percent (315,079 votes) for Secretary of State, surpassing the 2 percent threshold necessary to retain statewide ballot status. Garcia's total retained ballot status for the Green Party of California, because after the November 1994 election, the number of voters needed to qualify (or re-qualify) went up to 89,007 (Green registrants stood at 78,992). Had Garcia not received the total she did, the Green Party of California would have lost its ballot status as of January 1995.

Since the 1994 elections the party has had continuous ballot access.

In 1996 Arcata, California, a city with a population of about 17,000, became the first city ever to have a Green majority on the city council, with three of five seats. . Greens controlled the council from 1996-1998 and again from 2004-2006.

As of June 2007, 55 Green Party of California members hold elected office. 

California greens ran a full slate of candidates for state offices in 2006.