Massachusetts, which has denied the Libertarian Party permission to substitute its actual national ticket in place of its stand-in presidential and vice-presidential candidates, permitted Ralph Nader to substitute his actual vice-presidential candidate for his stand-in vice-presidential candidate in 2004. Nader started petitioning in Massachusetts in April 2004, with petitions listing Jan Pearce as his stand-in vice-presidential candidate. On June 21, Nader chose Peter Camejo as his actual vice-presidential candidate. Massachusetts elections officials told Nader he would be permitted to make the vice-presidential switch. As it turned out, Nader didn’t get enough valid signatures to be on the Massachusetts ballot, but that is irrelevant to the point that Massachusetts is acting inconsistently.

On June 13, the Massachusetts Secretary of State again refused permission for the Libertarian Party to substitute Bob Barr’s name for the stand-in candidate listed on the petition, George Phillies. The Secretary of State said the substitution would have been permitted if the party had nominated later in the year, but says there is time for the party to do an entirely new petition listing Bob Barr. The deadline is July 29.

There is some reason to believe that the ACLU will represent the Libertarian Party in a lawsuit. All of the precedents about presidential and vice-presidential substitution are favorable. Massachusetts told Ralph Nader in 2004 that he could substitute Peter Camejo for vice-president (that turned out to be a moot point, though, since the 2004 Nader petition in Massachusetts failed to get enough valid signatures). Massachusetts also let the Reform Party substitute for vice-president in 2000, and let John B. Anderson substitute for vice-president in 1980.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation has turned in 2,500 signatures to place its presidential candidate, Gloria La Riva, on the Utah ballot. The procedure requires 1,000 valid signatures. Although La Riva is using the independent petition method in Utah, Utah permits independent candidates to choose a partisan label which is printed on the November ballot. The party’s name is so long, for ballot purposes it generally uses the label “Socialism and Liberation.”