On October 9, the Kentucky State Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to remove Edward Anthony Martin from the ballot. Martin is the only minor party candidate for Congress this year in Kentucky; he is a Libertarian running in the 3rd district (Louisville), which is always a swing district.
Martin was removed because he is a registered Republican. The law says an independent candidate must not be a member of a qualified party, but the law doesn’t say that nominees of unqualified parties must not be members of qualified parties. The five-page opinion does not discuss constitutionality and does not cite any election law precedents. Martin had cited several U.S. Supreme Court cases that support him, but the majority did not seem to pay any attention. He will appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Since ballots have already been printed, the court ordered signs to be posted in each polling place warning that votes for Martin will not be counted.
FWIW, The Kentucky Supreme Court consists of six Democrats and one Republican. It is an elected position, so we need to remember who is for increased democracy and who is against when they come up for reelection.
Based on what I understand (and I’m no lawyer), because of the way this case went down, based on the laws used to kick our candidate off the ballot, we cannot appeal any further in Kentucky courts.
Federal is the next step. Wheels are turning.
Meanwhile, we’re going to get him on as a write-in as well, and challenge the signs that the court demanded be posted that say not to vote for Ed, since Ed will be a legal write-in candidate.