This Ohio newspaper story reports that Martin “Buck” Elsass failed to get on the Ohio Libertarian primary ballot for State House, even though only 25 signatures are required. The Elsass petition carried the names of at least 25 registered voters, but a technical error invalidated some of those signatures.
The story does not mention this point, but Elsass might still qualify for the November ballot if he can get 25 write-ins in the Libertarian primary on May 6.
This is why the Texas system is better. There is no presumption of party affiliation. Once the primaries are over, all voters become unaffiliated until two years later. At the same time, signing a partisan petition is an affiliating act.
I think that situation in HD 88 was more of a technicality, where the incumbent failed to sign his petitions. Note that the legal advice given to him was that he could not run as a write-in candidate; but could have a stand-in run, withdraw, and permit the party to choose a nominee.
All three petitions clearly stated across the top of each that Elsass was seeking candidacy as a LIBERTARIAN. Because the vast majority of those who signed the Elsass petitions were independents or in Ohio legalese “unaffiliated”, that was the term used on each petition to signify that the signers were not registered Libetarians but “unaffiliated” independents and therefore qualified to sign. The county BOE chair maintained this was incorrect place on the form to write that and therefore was not “a gray area” where one could lean towards ballot inclusion. In short, Elsass must mount a legal challenge to determine if a judge agrees with the county BOE chair.