Ohio will not appeal ballot access ruling
July 24th, 2008 by Jason PyeOhio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner told the Columbus Dispatch that she will not appeal a federal court ruling that put Bob Barr on the ballot under the Libertarian Party label:
Brunner also said she can’t find grounds to appeal a ruling by Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Columbus that Barr and other Libertarian candidates should appear on the Nov. 4 ballot under their party’s label because Ohio’s ballot-access rules for third parties are unconstitutional.
Sargus had put his ruling on hold to give Brunner time to appeal. Besides Barr, the ruling applies to Mark Noble, a candidate in the hotly contested 15th District congressional race, and Margaret A. Leech of Clermont County in the state Senate’s 14th District.
Political experts say the ruling is important because some voters might be more inclined to vote for a candidate based on the party label, especially if they don’t know much about the candidate and don’t like the other options.
The decision was a victory for the campaign and Libertarian candidates in Ohio. The decision by Judge Edmund Sargus can be viewed here.
We hope for a repeat of this success with our ballot access lawsuit in Oklahoma.
July 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I am glad that the Democrats are in charge of enforcing Ohio Election law at this time……if Ken Blackwell were still the Sec’y of State then the LP would’ve had to fight this all the way up! Thanks, Jennifer, for being a stand-up guy and doing the right thing!
July 24th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
http://www.barrbomb.com/
July 24th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Interesting read.
How in the world could the state claim that voters would be harmed by one more choice on the ballot? They must think voters are idiots.
We had hundreds on the California ballot for the governor re-call election. Sure, the voters voted for the most famous person, but the turn-out was huge.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Well I live in Ohio and I am happy to hear this. I was a little worried.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
I would like to have these responders e-mails so that I can speak direct to them! 614-432-3964, ygenet3f3u@yahoo.com