On September 17, the Kentucky Libertarian Party won a lawsuit over the right to nominate someone, even if that person is a registered member of another political party. The Jefferson Circuit Court ruled that Edward Martin should be on the November ballot as the Libertarian nominee for U.S. House, 3rd district, even though he is a registered Republican. Cummings v Martin, 08-CI-08751.

The Kentucky Libertarian Party is not a ballot-qualified party, so it placed Martin on the ballot by petition. Kentucky election law says that an independent candidate must not be a registered member of a qualified party. The Secretary of State placed Martin on the ballot, but a Republican Party official sued to remove Martin, on the grounds that if he were an independent candidate, he would not be permitted to be on the ballot. However, the judge ruled that a Libertarian Party nominee is not an “independent candidate”, even though the procedures for ballot access in Kentucky for independent candidates, and the candidates of unqualified parties, are the same (except that, of course, the nominee of an unqualified party may have his party label put on the ballot next to his or her name).

A key fact was that Kentucky keeps track of registrations of certain unqualified parties, including the Libertarian Party. Another fact, noted by the decision, is that the Libertarian Party is a bona fide political party, even if it isn’t a qualified party in Kentucky. The decision says, “Mr. Martin’s use of the Libertarian Party label cannot be fairly construed as some sort of sham designation to mask his otherwise ‘independent’ status. The party has a platform adopted at a national convention in May; it has a presidential candidate, Bob Barr; and it has been in existence since 1971. It has a coherent political philosophy based on the rights of the individual and limited government. While it does not appear any member of the current Congress is a Libertarian, members of the party have won election as, and discharge the duties of, a number of public offices in a number of states.”

Martin became a registered Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul earlier this year in the presidential primary. He represented himself in court even though he is not an attorney. It is possible there will be an appeal.