National Libertarian Party Gives $20,000 to Oklahoma Initiative

Posted on by October 1, 2007
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On September 30, the national Libertarian Party decided to give $20,000 toward the effort to get an initiative on the Oklahoma ballot which would ease ballot access. This is a sacrifice by the party when it also faces the costs of petitioning to get itself on the ballot for 2008 in certain states. However, the party (which has placed its presidential candidate on the ballot in Oklahoma 6 times), has probably spent $500,000 in its lifetime on Oklahoma ballot access. The party rationally is determined to end the Oklahoma ballot access problem once and for all. It is providing a service to all the voters of Oklahoma. As noted previously, Oklahomans were not permitted to vote for president in 2004 unless they voted for George Bush or John Kerry.

West Virginia Secretary of State Grapples With Partisan Affiliation of Presidential Candidates

Posted on by September 29, 2007
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Since 1991, West Virginia has had an election law that says candidates (other than independent candidates) must be registered members of the party that nominates them. On September 17, the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office informed the Mountain Party that if it wants to nominate a presidential candidate in 2008, that candidate must be a registered member of the Mountain Party.

In response, the Mountain Party pointed out that the Secretary of State had never enforced this law in the past against presidential candidates. If she had, George H. W. Bush, Ross Perot, George W. Bush, and Michael Badnarik, could not have appeared on the West Virginia ballot, since they all live in Texas and Texas has no registration by party. Similarly, Bill Clinton could not have appeared on the ballot, since Arkansas did not have registration by party. Also Ralph Nader could not have been the Green Party nominee in 2000 since he is a registered independent in Connecticut.

Also, the Mountain Party pointed out that the true candidates in November of presidential election years are the candidates for presidential elector. Presidential candidates’ names appear on the ballot in their capacity as labels for competing slates of presidential elector candidates, not as candidates per se. Article II of the U.S. Constitution compels this conclusion.

In response, the Secretary of State has said she will ask the legislature to amend the law, making it clear it doesn’t apply to presidential candidates. She is also free to seek an Attorney General’s Opinion, which might be simpler.

Arizona Libertarians Win Lawsuit Over Who Can Vote in Party Primary

Posted on by September 28, 2007
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On September 27, a U.S. District Court in Arizona ruled in favor of the Libertarian Party, in a case that the party had filed in 2002. Arizona Libertarian Party v Brewer, 02-144-TUC. A link to the opinion is here. The decision says that if a party doesn’t want independents to vote in its primary, it is free to exclude them. In the case of the Arizona Libertarian Party, the party members are massively outnumbered by registered independents, approximately 18,000 to 600,000. The court cited the party’s 2002 primary in the First District for the U.S. House. A non-Libertarian who advocated nationalized health care entered the party’s primary. Party leaders then recruited a candidate who actually supports the party platform. Although the candidate who supported the party platform won the primary 286-243 over the candidate who didn’t support the party platform, the judge ruled that letting independents vote in the party’s primary could easily have tilted the outcome. The decision also notes that a U.S. District Court in Virginia had ruled that Republicans in that state have a constitutional right to exclude non-members. The decision did not mention the more recent similar decision from Mississippi on behalf of Mississippi Democrats.