On January 20, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this 57-page brief in the 6th circuit, in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Husted, 11-4066. Last year, the Ohio Libertarian Party won injunctive relief, permitting it to be on the 2012 ballot. The Secretary of State did not appeal, and also put the other active minor parties on the 2012 ballot. But the Ohio legislature appealed the case to the 6th circuit.
Although the brief is long, it is fascinating reading, especially the part explaining the amazingly complex set of changes in the Ohio 2012 primary date. In Ohio, the petition deadline for new parties is tied to the date of the primary, so when the primary dates change (which they did three times), that changes the law on how parties get on the ballot.
One does sometimes wonder, maybe I am getting just a tad cynical, if making ballot access/party registration laws excessively complicated is not an accident but part of the design.
It almost reminds me of the silly scene from the cartoon/comic ‘The 12 Tasks of Asterix’ where one of the missions is permit number 38.
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What is the harm in allowing an appeal to the 6th Circuit? They were the ones who claimed it was the combination of primary date, filing period before the primary, and number of signatures was the problem; but gave no guidance as to what lesser combinations would be constitutional. Ohio is left with trial and error.