Gary Johnson wins one battle and loses another in the fight for ballot access

Gary Johnson won one battle late this past week in the State of Pennsylvania when a Commonwealth Court of Judges ruled in a two to one decision he had earned enough signatures to be on the ballot for President in Pennsylvania. However, at this time, Gary Johnson seems to have lost any chance of making the ballot in Oklahoma. In that state, thousands of thousands of petition signatures were thrown out by Republican and Democratic officials fearing the impact of additional competition on the ballot this coming Election Day. The federal case in the State of Michigan is still pending.

The good news: Johnson’s win in Pennsylvania

On Friday, 14 September, a Commonwealth Court of Judges ruled two to one in Gary Johnson’s favor, saying 9,000 signatures were in fact valid despite the fact the address given did not on the petitions did not match addresses did not match the voting file. Not unexpectedly, the GOP attorneys are appealing this decision.

Pennsylvania Republican Party Spokesman Valarie Caras claiming that the “Libertarian Party’s nominating petitions [were] riddled with errors, duplicate signatures, and in some cases, blatant fraud.” What Caras fails to mention is that this was the reason thousands of signatures were already thrown out from the beginning of the process.

Also, 16,000 signatures had already been agreed upon by all parties as legitimate. This is eight times the number of signatures required to run as a Republican or Democrat (just 2,000 signatures are needed) in Pennsylvania. For more information on this case, continue reading here.

The bad news: Johnson’s loss in Oklahoma

In the State of Oklahoma, the required number of signatures to be on the ballot for president is 51,739. While the party presented petitions with over 58,000 signatures, enough of them were disqualified to bring the number of recognized signatures down to just 41,000, which is a large amount for a state without a large population. The Johnson campaign was handed a defeat on Friday, 14 September. According to the Libertarian Party of Oklahoma:

Our writ and injunction were rejected yesterday (Friday, 14 September) by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. That means that Oklahoma ballots are STILL scheduled to be printed without listing Gov. Johnson on them. The campaign is evaluating what to do next and (we’ll) post more here as soon as (we) know something.

To keep up with the latest information on the fight for Oklahoma, visit the Oklahoma for Gary Johnson Facebook page.

Still undecided: Johnson’s status in Michigan

The State of Michigan is trying to deny Gary Johnson ballot access in that state by applying a “sore loser” laws that says Gary Johnson lost the race for the Republican Primary, according to a judge’s decision written on 07 September. However, Johnson withdrew for the race for the Republican nomination for President on 28 December 2011, and the primary was not held until 28 February 2012. Therefore, the lawsuit is challenging the assertion that Johnson lost the Republican Primary, since he had ended his campaign for the Republican nomination two months before the Michigan Republican Primary.

The Johnson campaign made several unsuccessful attempts to have his name removed off of the ballot for the primary, since the Libertarian Party automatically grants access to the Libertarian Party in that state. Therefore, the Libertarian Party of Michigan is taking the case to federal court to challenge the ruling.

The fight with the State of Michigan is also over the attempt to remove Gary Johnson’s name from the ballot form the Republican Primary in Michigan, despite Gary Johnson declaring himself a Libertarian and out of the race two months ahead of the primary. To read more about this case, read here.

Stay informed with the latest updates on Gary Johnson’s campaign for President

The ballot access situation is an on-going process that the latest news and status on the drive to get Gary Johnson on the ballot on all 50 states for Election Day is changing rapidly, so it is important to stay up-to-date on the latest information. Stay informed by visiting the Gary Johnson for President website and Gary Johnson for President Facebook page.

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Tagged ballot access, Gary Johnson, libertarian party, vote