With the start of the new year, a new President, and a new Congress, it’s important to look ahead to what changes will be brought about in the coming years. But first, we must look back, and see how we got here. With that said, here are the top 5 victories for the liberty movement, in 2016.

Marijuana legalization made gains nationwide.

On November 8th, in several states, there were ballot measures regarding the legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana. California, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts, and Arizona all held votes on the legalization of recreational marijuana. The measures succeeded in every state but Arizona. The Massachusetts ballot measure was specifically backed by their former Governor, and 2016 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee, Bill Weld. Rolling out the new legalization efforts varies by state, and it’s not yet legal to purchase in some states, but you can still grow and use it yourself. Even in Arizona, the story isn’t so bleak for legalization advocates. The ballot measure only lost by about four percent, and the state still has legal medical marijuana. In addition to recreational legalization was medical marijuana being legalized in four states. Arkansas, North Dakota, Montana, and Florida all voted to legalize medical marijuana. Florida’s ballot measure won out by an astonishing 42.64% margin, so advocates are expected to push for recreational legalization there soon.

Maine passed ranked choice voting.

It may not seem like a big libertarian victory at face value, but Maine’s new ranked choice voting law, which was passed by a ballot measure, could prove to give a big breakthrough for libertarians. The measure would allow voters to rank their choices on the ballot, and if no candidate won a majority of first choice votes, there would be an instant-runoff election. The votes cast for the least popular candidate would go to their second choice, until a candidate wins a majority. This could potentially result in libertarians winning some seats, as they can now campaign without the spoiler argument weighing them down.

Libertarian Republicans won reelection in Congress.

Senator Rand Paul, Congressman Thomas Massie, and Congressman Justin Amash are all names that will probably sound familiar to any libertarian. These are generally considered to be the three most libertarian Republicans currently in Congress, and they all just won re-election. Even more important is Senator Paul’s increased political power with his election. Due to the GOP only holding 52 Senate seats, the Senator from Kentucky is in a particularly powerful position to decide the vote, or filibuster several important bills in the near future.

Gary Johnson had a successful campaign for President.

While Governors Johnson and Weld may have had a rough campaign, and didn’t hit the five percent threshold, we still have a lot to thank them for. The 2016 Libertarian Presidential ticket won more votes, and a higher percentage than any previous election, garnering 4,488,919 votes in total. This, among other state elections, puts the Libertarian Party as a recognized party in 38 states.

Ron Paul got an electoral vote.

This isn’t really a victory as far as opportunities to enact libertarian policy, but I felt obligated to include it. In a way, this was a form of symbolic victory. Ron Paul, who ran for President in 1988, 2008, and 2012, finally won an electoral vote: a faithless elector from Texas. Ron Paul has been a strong voice in the liberty movement, and introduced many of us to it. For that, we thank him, and we’re glad he could at least win one.