The Ohio deadline for independent presidential candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, passed on August 7. Six presidential petitions were submitted: for the nominees of the Green, Socialism & Liberation, American Solidarity, and Dr. Shiva Parties; and for independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Richard Duncan.
The three qualified parties are Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian.
The New York Times of August 1 has this obituary of Michael A. Hardy, who died July 22 at the age of 69. Although the obituary emphasizes his law career, it also mentions that he was once the editor of the New Alliance Party’s weekly newspaper, the National Alliance. It also mentions that the party placed its presidential nominee, Lenora Fulani, on the ballot in all fifty states in 1988.
Ironically, during the entire calendar year 1988, the New York Times never mentioned Fulani or her campaign.
On August 9, two Iowa Republican Party officials challenged the ballot status of Marco Battaglia, the Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. House for the Third District. The Iowa Libertarian Party is ballot-qualified. Iowa qualified parties may nominate either by primary, or if no one won the primary, by party meeting. The objectors say the Libertarians held precinct caucuses and a state meeting, but didn’t hold a county meeting. See this story.
Chris Churchill, who has been a 3-times per week columnist at the Albany Times-Union since 2012, has this column about the Democratic Party’s efforts to keep Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., off the New York ballot. The Albany Times-Union is the daily newspaper for New York’s capital city, and is the location of the state court that is weighing the challenge.
The column may be behind a pay wall,, but it says, “The RFK Jr. lawsuit is really about disenfranchising voters…The Democratic-aligned group doesn’t really care where he lives. It just wants to rob New Yorkers of choice.” It also points out that according to the most recent poll for the presidential election in New York state, 7% of voters want to vote for Kennedy.
On July 30, the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. campaign filed a federal lawsuit to stop the objections to his Illinois petition. Oakley v Illinois State Board of Elections, n.d., 1:24cv-06627. The objectors to the Kennedy petition did not bring the challenge to the Kennedy candidates for presidential elector. Instead they just filed against Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan.
The federal lawsuit says because the true candidates are the candidates for presidential elector, the objectors’ challenge is fatally flawed. It is too late for the objectors to file a new objection naming the candidates for elector. The case is before U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy C. Daniel, a Biden appointee. Thanks to Sam Cahnman for this news.
