On June 26, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed HB 509, which extends the deadline for certain qualified parties to certify their presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The old law required the certification in early August, but now it is in early September. The bill only applies to parties that polled 20% of the vote in the last election. Other qualified parties still have the August deadline. There is no practical harm done to the qualified minor parties from being excluded from the bill, because they will all have their national conventions by mid-July.
The law wouldn’t have mattered. Don’t most Secretary of State’s have leeway on things like this?
#1, no, courts have almost uniformly held that deadlines are to be strictly observed. For example, look at Michigan, where the Secretary of State says Gary Johnson’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential primary was received at 4:03 p.m, and the law said it had to be in that day at 4 p.m.
#2 was Texas the same way in 2008. I know Bob Barr claimed to be the only legal candidate on the ballot. And I think in some states like Montana for instance that the Secretary of State has deadlines, but the office is making those deadlines
13-25-101. Nomination of electors — ballot. (1) In the manner and number provided by law, each political party qualified under 13-10-601 shall nominate presidential electors for this state and file with the secretary of state certificates of nomination in a form and by the date prescribed by the secretary of state.
This is what I meant by leeway. The Secretary of state seems to making it’s own deadline, rather then having a certain day at 5 PM.
(6) If the name of a new candidate for president or vice president, or both, is certified to the secretary of state in less than 76 days pursuant to subsection (1), the secretary of state shall immediately certify the new name or names to the election administrators and the new name or names must be placed on the ballot by one of the methods provided in 13-12-204.
Gee – one more fix for the major party gangs by the gerrymander party gangs.
P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.