Secretary of State Husted Wants to Limit My Vote Options

From the Libertarian Party of Ohio. Emphasis below is my own.

LPO FILES INJUNCTION IN CASE AGAINST SEC OF STATE HUSTED

18 August 2011

For immediate release:

Earlier this month, The Libertarian Party of Ohio (LPO) sued Ohio Secretary of State Husted in response to the passage of H.B. 194 that goes into effect on September 1, 2011. That bill puts unconstitutional barriers between non-Republican or Democrat candidates and ballot access. In support of that lawsuit, today the LPO has filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Expedited Proceedings and a Memorandum in Support. The motion itself asks that the court allow LPO candidates be allowed on the ballot and that the LPO remain a legal political party in order to protect the its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of political speech and equal protection under the law. This lawsuit and today's motion demonstrate how H.B. 194 contains language already deemed by the Ohio Supreme Court to be unconstitutional based on its rulings in similar cases over the past few years.

“Limiting ballot access is something that we would expect from Third World dictators and despots, not freely elected officials in the State of Ohio,” said LPO Vice Chair Michael Johnston. “The LPO is certainly not as large as the Republican or Democrat parties, and they want to keep it that way by rigging the game. It's one thing to disagree with us on the issues—that's part of politics—but restricting ballot access through unconstitutional laws is not the American way.”

The main issue is what constitutes reasonable ballot access. The LPO believes that Ohio should use reasonable, attainable standards to determine who can and cannot be on a ballot. While there should be some minimal threshold to get a candidate on the ballot, we should err on the side of easier access rather than limiting it to a well funded and well connected few. Without fair and open access to the ballot, a few, powerful elites will control the means to get elected. We are already close to that point, which is what so much of the Tea Party movement is all about, and the disconnect between elected officials and the general public that people of all political persuasions are upset about.

The Memorandum supporting the Injunction, co-authored by attorneys Gary Sinawski and Mark R. Brown, concludes, "For the foregoing reasons, Defendant should be preliminarily enjoined from enforcing H.B. 194's changes to O.R.C. §§ 3501.01(E) and 3517.01(A)(1), and the LPO should remain qualified for Ohio's 2011 and 2012 election ballots. Defendant should be preliminarily ordered to take all necessary steps to insure that the LPO and its candidates have access to all relevant 2011 elections in Ohio, and have access to all relevant primary and general elections in 2012."

The LP is America's third-largest political party, founded in 1971. The Libertarian Party stands for free markets, civil liberties, and peace. In November of 2010, the Libertarian Party of Ohio fielded more than 45 candidates for office, including the first full slate of candidates for statewide executive office by any alternative party since the Great Depression.

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LPO Testifies Before House and Senate Committees On Voters Rights

Taken directly from the Libertarian Party of Ohio web site in the hope of spreading the message.

Since the Libertarian Party of Ohio sued the state and won in 2006, Ohio has been without any legal means for a political party to obtain access to the ballot.

In 2008, at an unfortunate great cost to the state, four political parties sued in federal court to have their Creator-endowed First and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Freedom of Assembly and Equal Treatment Under the Law upheld. In a victory for hundreds of thousands of Ohio voters, our 2008 case was successful, but litigation does not create new statutory law.

Ballot access efforts, particularly petitioning, do not come cheap. “The LPO has spent a great deal of effort on ballot access efforts including petitioning and making presentations to the legislature in the last few years,” noted Johnston. “And the expenses were minimized as much as possible by hundreds of volunteer hours of work, but costs for ballot access are still thousands of dollars.” Ballot access costs included the petitioning to place the first full statewide executive slate for a minor party since 1934 onto the 2010 ballot. Volunteers have also taken days off their paid employment to visit the Statehouse to stand up for the rights of all Ohioans

In 2007, then-LPO Chair Robert Butler testified on behalf of LP members in front of the General Assembly in favor of free elections. Since 2007, the LPO has regularly sent Chair Kevin Knedler, current Vice Chair Michael Johnston, and others down to the Statehouse to meet legislators, either individually or in small groups. Over those years, we have built positive relationships with representatives and senators of both political parties who favor common sense laws for ballot access.
Wednesday and Thursday, Johnston and LPO Executive Committee member Bob Bridges travelled to the Statehouse to continue educating sitting legislators about the importance of fair, free, and open elections. Johnston testified before the Ohio House’s State Government and Elections Committee yesterday regarding House Bill 194 and this morning before the Ohio Senate’s Government Oversight and Reform Committee about Senate Bill 148.

Some lawmakers seemed receptive while others appeared more hesitant to allow other political parties to participate in the political process, said Johnston. “In a time when the United States is spending blood and treasure to spread free elections and democracy in the Middle East, the easiest thing in the world to do should be to spread it here in Ohio. The first national election in Iraq had numerous political parties on the ballot. Yet despite the successful election in a nation unused to partisan politics, some Ohio legislators seem to think that we cannot handle even three.”

The LPO asked the General Assembly to include ballot petitioning standards, ballot retention reform, and inclusion of independent and minor party members on Boards of Election and as poll workers. “Ohio has been run by a duopoly without competition for so long that most voters can’t even remember participating in an open election prior to 2008,” said Knedler. “I look forward to an election process in Ohio that includes a true free market exchange of ideas.”

Special thanks to Senator Faber for allowing photography of the testimony before the Senate Committee, and thanks Senator Faber and Representative Mecklenborg for allowing the Libertarian Party of Ohio to testify to their respective committees on this important issue.

For information on how to contribute to, join, and participate in the Libertarian Party of Ohio please visit our website at www.LPO.org, join your local LP Meetup Group, or “Like” us on Facebook and network directly with party leaders from around the state.

In addition to speaking, the LPO also provided written testimony to both committees. Please view the PDFs of our presentation and suggested amendment language. When reviewing our suggested changes, normal text is existing law, underlined text is recommended additions, and struck through text is existing law that we recommend removing/changing.

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Government at all levels is too large, too expensive, woefully inefficient, arrogant, intrusive, and downright dangerous. Democratic and Republican politicians have created the status quo and do not intend to change it.

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