OWL Party

The OWL Party of Washington was a minor political party founded in a tavern and jazz club, the Tumwater Conservatory, in Tumwater, Washington, to field candidates in the 1976 elections,

The party was established in part as a sarcastic, humorous protest against over-reach of the Washington State liquor laws, which at the time forced closure of taverns during primary elections. The jazz club's tavern was exempted from forced closure because it was the site of the political convention that established the OWL Party (by law, the new party's convention had to be convened on the day of the primary election). A further part of the protest was that patrons of the club were later listed on the state's official election ballot, openly expressing criminal intent for seeking office in their campaign statements (for the most part, their plans to abscond with public funds if elected).

History

The OWL Party of Washington emerged from a jazz club, the Tumwater Conservatory, in Tumwater, Washington, during the 1976 elections. Founded by the entertainer Red Kelly, the club's owner, the party aimed to inject a dose of humor and eccentricity into the political landscape, as well as to impel a change in the state's laws.

Party name and slogan

The party's name, OWL, was a double acronym, standing for "Out With Logic, On With Lunacy", and its motto was "We don't give a hoot!".^[1] The OWL Party of Washington sought to challenge the seriousness and predictability often associated with traditional political discourse, as well as to protest the intrusive liquor laws that sought to force its closure on the day of the primary election.

Aftermath

The OWL Party secured a place on the ballot for the 1976 elections. The relative ease with which this party gained access to the electoral process, however, forced the Washington State Legislature to re-evaluate and increase the barriers for minor-party access to the ballot. The changes were challenged, unsuccessfully, by established minor parties like the Socialist Workers Party.^[2]

The legal battles that ensued, including challenges to the increased requirements for minor-party access, culminated in U.S. Supreme Court proceedings.^[2]