The

is in danger of losing its ballot status in Oregon.

Party officials said Wednesday that they disagree with the secretary of state's contention that they won't qualify for the November ballot unless they increase the number of voters registered in the party.

If the party loses its access to the Oregon ballot, it could jeopardize the plans of the national Green Party to have a presidential candidate on the Oregon ballot.

Jill Stein, a Massachusetts physician who has frequently run for office there, is competing with actor Roseanne Barr for the presidential nomination. Stein, who appeared at a Portland press conference Wednesday with Bobier, expressed confidence that she would win the party's nomination. She said she has won the backing of all 18 state Green parties that have held presidential caucuses or primaries.

Blair Bobier, a party founder and Philomath lawyer, said that the party plans to file a lawsuit ordering the secretary of state to give the party ballot status.

"We're saying that when there is an ambiguity in the law, it should break down on the side of democracy" and allowing more access to the ballot, said Bobier.

State Elections Director Steve Trout said the law is clear. The party has two ways to qualify for the statewide ballot, and so far it hasn't met either criteria.

One is to run a statewide candidate in the previous general election who receives at least 1 percent of the vote. The other is for at least one-half of 1 percent of the electorate to be registered in the party.

Currently, the Pacific Green Party has just under 8,700 registered voters, about 1,650 fewer than it needs.

Bobier said the party believes it remains qualified because it ran a candidate for secretary of state in 2008 who received more than 1 percent of the vote and that this should cover the full four-year term of that office.

He also argued that the party qualified by having its candidates gain more than 1 percent of the vote in four of Oregon's five congressional races in 2010.

If necessary, Bobier said the party will launch a registration drive to get these signatures by the Aug. 8 deadline. He acknowledged that it's a major task for the small party, which first gained ballot status in 1996.

--