The D.C. Statehood Party and the D.C. Green Party officially merged Sept. 9, forming the new D.C. Statehood Green Party.

The party merger, the first in local D.C. politics, means that both parties will lose major party ballot status, according to Board of Elections and Ethics officials. In order to get ballot status back, a candidate from the new party will have to get 7,500 votes in the next election. Ballot status lets a political party hold primary elections in the District and makes it easier for candidates from smaller parties to collect the required signatures to get on the ballot.

The Statehood Party first voted to merge at its annual convention in June and the Green Party agreed to the merger Sept. 2. The new party will be a member of the Association of State Green Parties, which is forming a national Green Party.

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