COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday denied an
effort by the Libertarian Party of Ohio to get its gubernatorial
candidate back on the ballot for the May primary.
Attorneys for
candidate Charlie Earl and the Libertarian Party immediately requested a
stay of that ruling and indicated they would appeal U.S. District Court
Judge Michael Watson’s decision to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals in Cincinnati.
Earl’s candidacy would have the potential
to draw votes from Republican Gov. John Kasich as the incumbent faces
likely Democratic challenger Ed FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County
executive.
Ohio’s elections chief, Republican Secretary of State
Jon Husted, had disqualified Earl and the Libertarian candidate for
attorney general, Steven Linnabary, after their nominating petitions
were challenged on two grounds: that signature gatherers failed to
comply with Ohio laws requiring them to be either Libertarian or
political independents and another requiring them to disclose their
employer.
Husted agreed with a hearing officer who found that two Earl petitioners failed to properly disclose
their employers.
Libertarians
sought to reinstate Earl’s ballot status, arguing that Husted’s ruling
violated petition circulators’ First Amendment rights and conflicted
with previous state rulings allowing them to submit signatures without
declaring an employer.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson
ruled against the request, concluding that the law challenged by the
party "places only a minimal burden on political speech and the
disclosures it requires are substantially related to Ohio’s significant
interest in deterring and detecting fraud in the candidate petition
process."
Attorneys for Earl and the Libertarian Party plan to appeal.
"While
we respect Judge Watson’s decision, we believe the First Amendment
protects circulators from having to wear the source of their payment on
their sleeves," one of the attorneys, Mark Kafantaris, said in an email.
A
statement from the secretary of state’s office said Watson’s ruling
upholds Husted’s decision "to follow state law" and invalidate the
petitions.
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