On December 14, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted told the press that Donald Trump can’t qualify as an independent presidential candidate in Ohio (should he want to do that), because Ohio, starting in 1981, defined “Independent candidate” to be “any candidate who does not consider himself affiliated with a political party, and who has his name certified on the ballot at a general election through the filing of a statement of candidacy and nominating petition as prescribed by section 3513.257 of the Revised Code.” Sometime between 1996 and 2002 it was slightly amended, so now it says, “who claims not to be affiliated with a political party”.
That law was passed in 1981. Yet in 1984, 1988, and 1992, Ohio let independent presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche on the ballot as an independent, even though all three elections LaRouche had run in the Ohio Democratic presidential primary and in the Democratic presidential primaries of many other states. Furthermore, ever since 1979, LaRouche has consistently told the world that he is a Democrat. Hundreds of members of his organization have run in Democratic primaries for public office and also party office. Two individuals were even elected as delegates to the Democratic National Convention in 1996, pledged to support LaRouche for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, the Democratic National Committee then passed a resolution to prevent them from being seated. LaRouche sued but the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia said the Democratic Party was permitted to do that.
The Ohio law has been upheld, but not in reference to any presidential candidate. The reason LaRouche was permitted to run in Ohio in 1984, 1988, and 1992 is partly because the true candidates in November are the candidates for presidential elector, and there was no revealed evidence that the LaRouche candidates for presidential electors had publicly affiliated themselves with the Democratic Party.
Jon Husted conspicuously did not say anything about whether Trump could be the nominee of a new party. A new party needs 30,560 signatures due July 6, 2016.
Richard Winger,
I recall the Act To Prevent The Exercise Of Foreign Jurisdiction and question if it can be applied in this case, viz., Trump is not a resident of Ohio and his party affiliation is in New York.
Sincerely, Mark Seidenberg, Chairman, American Independent Party of
California
Richard, you had said somewhere that there were 14 other independent state parties out there Trump could use for ballot access. Would you care to elaborate?
A Republican Ohio official engaging in questionable elections oversight and actions?
I’m…well, I’m gobsmacked!
J.R., I don’t remember saying there are 14 such state parties. There are one-state parties on the ballot in Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. Some would probably want to help Trump but others wouldn’t. Beyond those states, there is also the Independent American Party which is on the ballot in New Mexico and Utah.