Secretary of State Ruth Johnson Denies Libertarian Party Presidential Ballot Access --

Libertarian Party of Michigan to sue to place Governor Gary Johnson on Michigan's November general election ballot
By: Libertarian Party of Michigan
 
June 9, 2012 - PRLog -- At its convention on June 2, 2012, in Livonia, Michigan, the Libertarian Party of Michigan confirmed the nomination of former two-term Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson and former California Superior Court Judge James P. Gray as its Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees.  The Party did so, even though Christopher Thomas, the Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections threatened on behalf of Secretary of State Ruth Johnson in a letter dated May 3 to exclude Governor Johnson from the November Michigan general election ballot.  

Thomas wrote that Governor Johnson's nomination would violate Michigan's "sore loser" law, because Governor Johnson had originally sought the Republican Presidential nomination and Secretary of State Ruth Johnson had placed his name on Michigan's February 28 Presidential Primary ballot.  Governor Johnson suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination in November 2011, and attempted to withdraw his name from the primary ballot.  However, Thomas claims his withdrawal affidavit was received 3 minutes too late.

This marks the first time in Michigan history the Secretary of State has applied Michigan's sore loser law to exclude a Presidential candidate from the November ballot.  The sore loser law was enacted in 1955, when Michigan had no Presidential Primary.  In 1980, Democratic Secretary of State Richard Austin refused to apply the sore loser law to Presidential candidate John Anderson.  Anderson actively ran in the Michigan Republican Presidential Primary.  When John Anderson abandoned the Republican Party,  Secretary of State Austin permitted him to petition onto the November general election ballot as the candidate of the Anderson Coalition Party.

The Libertarian Party of Michigan hand-delivered its nominations to the Secretary of State's office in Lansing on Monday, June 4th.  Since then, the Libertarians have made several attempts to contact Ruth Johnson and Christopher Thomas to confirm what action they plan to take.  None of those calls have been returned, so the Libertarian Party has no choice but to file suit.

The Party’s nomination documents certify that its Presidential Elector candidates are pledged to former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico. But they also say that if the Secretary of State refuses to place Governor Johnson's name on the ballot, then in that case the Party’s Presidential Elector candidates are pledged to a stand-in candidate, Libertarian activist Gary E. Johnson of Austin, Texas, whose name should be placed on the ballot pending the results of the Party's legal challenge to place Governor Johnson of New Mexico on the ballot.    

Denee Rockman-Moon, Libertarian Party State Chair, stated  “The Libertarian Party of Michigan has permanent ballot access.  We legally selected Governor Gary Johnson as our nominee.   Though a Republican, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has a duty as Michigan's highest election official to follow the law and impartially oversee Michigan elections.  The Libertarian Party is known as the Party of Principle. We are starting to wonder what happened to Secretary of State Ruth Johnson’s principles.”


- Contact Information
- media@ michiganlp.org
Michael Moon / Media Director
- 810-241-5801
Sources – Ballot Access News (Richard Winger)
End
Source:Libertarian Party of Michigan
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Tags:Libertarian, Freedom, Michigan Libertarian, Republican, Democrat
Industry:Government, Defense
Location:Fenton - Michigan - United States
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Page Updated Last on: Jun 09, 2012
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