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Kentucky Court of Appeals Removes Libertarian Congressional Candidate from Ballot

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Richard WingerOctober 9, 2008

On October 9, the Kentucky State Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to remove Edward Anthony Martin from the ballot. Martin is the only minor party candidate for Congress this year in Kentucky; he is a Libertarian running in the 3rd district (Louisville), which is always a swing district.

Martin was removed because he is a registered Republican. The law says an independent candidate must not be a member of a qualified party, but the law doesn’t say that nominees of unqualified parties must not be members of qualified parties. The five-page opinion does not discuss constitutionality and does not cite any election law precedents. Martin had cited several U.S. Supreme Court cases that support him, but the majority did not seem to pay any attention. He will appeal to the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Since ballots have already been printed, the court ordered signs to be posted in each polling place warning that votes for Martin will not be counted.

Montana Court Stalls Ruling On Independent Petition Deadline

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Richard WingerOctober 9, 2008

On April 8, 2008, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Montana’s new March petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidate deadlines. The case was filed on behalf of Steve Kelly, independent candidate for U.S. Senate this year.

No hearing was held until September 18, 2008, when a hearing was held on Kelly’s request for injunctive relief. As of October 9, three weeks later, U.S. District Court Judge Sam Haddon has still not ruled on the request for injunctive relief. In the meantime, though, on September 30, he denied injunctive relief for another independent candidate for U.S. Senate who had not filed her case until August 27. That candidate, Patty Lovaas, had run in this year’s June Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Judge Haddon denied her request for relief on the basis that she could not be an independent candidate because a Montana law bars independent candidates who have been associated with a political party.

Arizona Will Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Restore June Petition Deadline and Ban on Out-of-State Circulators

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Richard WingerOctober 8, 2008

On July 9, 2008, the 9th circuit struck down Arizona’s June petition deadline for independent presidential petitions, and also its ban on out-of-state circulators. On October 8, the state decided to ask for U.S. Supreme Court review.

Judge in Connecticut Libertarian Case Wants to See All Petitions

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Richard WingerOctober 8, 2008

On October 8, a status conference was held in Libertarian Party of Connecticut v Bysiewicz, the case to get Bob Barr on the ballot. The judge wants to see copies of all the petitions, and so photocopying is going on as quickly as possible. The issue is whether there really are 7,500 valid signatures for Barr.

Nader Has Received $811,494 in Primary Season Matching Funds This Year

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Richard WingerOctober 8, 2008

The Federal Election Commission during 2008 has sent Ralph Nader $881,494 in primary season matching funds. By contrast, in 2004, he received $664,151.

Primary season matching funds are awarded to anyone who raises at least $5,000 in each of 20 states, and who seeks the nomination of a political party. Although Nader was fundamentally an independent presidential candidate in both 2004 and 2008, in both years he actively sought and won the nomination of various political parties.