On August 31, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this brief in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Husted, southern district, 2:13cv-953. It summarizes the most significant findings from the party’s discovery conducted over the last month, discovery which reveals that the hearing officer who removed the party’s gubernatorial candidate from the party’s primary ballot had originally ruled in favor of keeping the candidate on the primary ballot.
The brief also shows that the hearing officer was simultaneously acting as an attorney for the Ohio Attorney General. It also reveals that the man who paid the attorney for the individual who challenged the party’s primary petition is a civil servant for the state. His annual salary is $70,000 and he has no other significant income. Yet, he paid over $100,000 to the attorneys for the challenger. Even if you don’t normally read legal briefs, consider reading this one; it is only 19 pages.
I’m not surprised at what both Republican and Democratic operatives will do to keep the Libertarian or any 3rd party or Independent off the ballot. But I am a little confused. Was the Earl ticket restored to the ballot? Politics1.com list a write-in candidate for Governor. Which is it, Richard?
The purpose of the brief is to get the candidate on the ballot. If you read the brief, you can see how trickery was used to keep any Ohio Libertarian from filing for write-in status in the LP primary. If an Ohio Libertarian had filed as a write-in in the primary, he or she almost certainly would have got enough votes to qualify for the November ballot. We know this is true because the statewide Libertarians who did file as write-ins in the primary did get the needed 500 votes. But the party couldn’t file anyone for Governor in its own primary because it wasn’t told the primary ballot-listed gubernatorial candidate was being challenged until after it was too late for anyone else to file as a primary write-in.
Just curious. Were the write-in candidates in the Libertarian Primary real Libertarians, or were they representing a group within the party who have a beef with the Libertarian leadership?
They were all real Libertarian Party leaders and activists.
Trust me, I am a REAL Libertarian.
Kevin Knedler for Ohio Secretary of State.
website: KnedlerforLiberty.com
I voted Libertarian & had two write in candidates here in Ohio. Would have loved to vote Charlie Earl for Governor in place of Kasch or that loser democrat who drove for 10+ years with no drivers license & been stopped parked at 3 am in parking lots with foreign females… I Did vote in past for Rob Portman who has a pretty good voting and response record to emails…