The Alabama Secretary of State has certified that the three independent presidential petitions all have enough valid signatures. Therefore, Virgil Goode, Gary Johnson, and Jill Stein are on the Alabama ballot. All three will have “independent” as their only ballot label. Alabama is the only state this year in which no minor party labels will appear on the November ballot for President, except that this may or may not become true for Oklahoma as well. Thanks to Paullie for this news.
Congratulations Goode, Johnson and Stein..
A big thank you goes out to Paulie and Andy! The Constitution Party of Alabama is thankful for your help.
Great news!
Congrats to Goode, Johnson and Stein!!
lp blog:
47 States for Gov. Gary Johnson, Judge Jim Gray – 3 To Go!
posted by on Sep 11, 2012
Governor Gary Johnson and Judge James P. Gray will appear on 47 state ballots plus the District of Columbia, as 4 more states were added to the list today. Petitions to get the Governor and Judge on the ballot this November were verified in Alabama, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Rhode Island. We are involved in litigation with the 3 remaining states: Michigan, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.
With Virgil Goode on the Alabama ballot, now I can vote for a real American – not an internationalist.
I know that I do not agree with all of Mr. Goode’s positions and the Constitution Party’s propensity to want to go back to the Gilded Age when the Rich ran America and the working class did the best they could, but at least the Rich under a Goode Administration would not sell us out to the United Nations and there might just be a chance to convince him to support a National Bank which would issue only interest-free and non-debt creating U.S.currency. Just addressing these two issues -(though many others need addressing including Alcohol, Tobacco and Gambling) – these alone will help get America heading in the correct direction, though much work is still to be done.
Thanks to all including Paulie and Josh who helped make a real choice available for Alabamians.
Richard, on how many states besides OK and AL will Johnson appear as an independent without any party slogan? It would be interesting to see if the label “Libertarian” hinders or helps a candidate versus “Independent,” although I’m sure one would need a larger data set.
#6, just Tennessee.
We already know the label “Libertarian” gets more votes than “independent.” In 2008, Bob Barr was on the Alabama ballot as an independent, but in Alabama’s neighbors Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi, he was on the ballot as “Libertarian.” (he was also on as an independent in Tennessee). In all the Alabama counties that border any of the three states with the “Libertarian” label, Barr got a lower percentage of the vote in those Alabama border counties than in the neighboring counties in those other three states.
The same was true in 1992 and also in 1996 when Ohio data was examined. In every instance, the Libertarian presidential nominee (whether Marrou in 1992 or Browne in 1996), the Libertarian share of the vote in the Ohio border counties was lower than in the neighboring counties in Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Ohio had no label for the Libertarian but those neighbor states all had the Libertarian label.
This evidence is in the record in the pending Alabama case. It was introduced by our side to rebut the state’s claim that minor parties aren’t harmed when the state refuses to print their label on the ballot.
#6. It also depends who the candidate is. In the 1968 Presidential Election, George Wallace appeared on all 50 state ballots. On most he was listed as the AIP candidate. Of the states he won, 3 of them he was listed as “American,” 1 of them he was listed as “independent,” and 1 of them he was listed as “Democrat.” I believe Richard Winger will verify this.
My point is, and 3rd partisans who are so “in love with their party label” don’t seem to be able to understand, that labels have very little to do with how many votes are cast for the candidate. If a candidate is well known and popular, and has funds to spend, he or she will win many votes. It is the candidate who most voters support – not their ballot label. Libertarians, Constitutionalists, and all other serious 3rd partisans need to learn this basic lesson. If they would “push their candidate and place less emphasis on pushing the party label,” they might win more elections – or at least have a greater affect on the outcome.
But as I’ve said over and over and over again. 3rd partisans are their own worst enemies.
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