The Ohio Secretary of State has finally published the booklet “Election Statistics” for the November 2004 election. The booklet does not include the labels that were printed on the ballot for the few minor party and independent candidates who ran in that election. Of course, Republican and Democratic nominees are labeled as such in the book.

An independent candidate won a lawsuit in the 6th circuit, forcing the state to begin printing labels for independents. Previous to that, independent candidates on the Ohio ballot had no partisan label whatsoever. Even after the 1992 lawsuit was won, the Ohio legislature refused to amend the law to authorize labels until 2003, when it grudgingly passed a bill to print either “no-party candidate” or “other-party candidate” on the ballots. In 2004, Michael Badnarik (Libertarian presidential nominee) and Michael Peroutka (Constitution Party presidential nominee) each had “other-party candidate” printed next to their names on the ballot. These are silly labels, but better than no label at all. However, even these labels are missing from the printed election return book.

On March 11, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Yaffee ordered the city of Vernon to put three candidates for City Council on the ballot. The city clerk had said they couldn’t run because they were registered at a converted commercial space, and they had been evicted from that address. The judge said that just because the city evicted them doesn’t mean they aren’t bona fide residents. “Maybe they’re living on the streets, or in their cars”, he said. Eskndarian v City of Vernon, bc-346114.

On March 12, Kate Michelman declared she will not run as an independent candidate for US Senate from Pennsylvania. She is former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. There had been speculation she would run, since the likely Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate this year will be Bob Casey, who believes that abortion should be banned.