Posted at Ballot Access News
On September 26, the 5th Circuit removed Bob Barr from the Louisiana ballot. The three judges were Carolyn King (a Carter appointee from Texas), James Dennis (a Clinton appointee from Louisiana), and Priscilla Owen (a Bush Jr. appointee from Texas). The action was taken without any hearing. The case is Libertarian Party et al v Dardenne, 08-30922. Technically, the ruling only stays the decision of the U.S. District Court, and a ruling on declaratory relief will be held after the election.
The five-page order says that the state will suffer irreparable injury if the stay is not granted. That irreparable injury is that “absentee voters in the military and overseas will receive two ballots with different candidates, with a resulting likelihood of confusion and duplicate voting.†The ruling also says, “We recognize that the stay will inflict harm on the Libertarian Party, but we believe that the harm may well be of their own making.†The party has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the stay.
This brings Barr back down to 45 state ballot access, one state short of Ron Paul in 1988 and Ralph Nader this year. However, he still has court cases in Maine and Oklahoma, and a recount challenging the Connecticut Secretary of State’s determination that the Libertarian Party petition did not have enough valid signatures is underway.
28 responses so far ↓
1 Mike Gillis // Sep 26, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Is there any appealing this?
2 VTV // Sep 26, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I don’t care for Barr, but this is lame.
3 G.E. // Sep 26, 2008 at 7:54 pm
No. What’s lame is the LP of LA and the Barr campaign not being able to get on the ballot when the newly invented LA Taxpayers Party had no problem getting on at all.
4 Mike Gillis // Sep 26, 2008 at 7:59 pm
It;’s not entirely Barr’s fault here.
The guy is a douchebag, but LA is being totally unreasonable. I mean, how could the guy have filed for a ballot line with a hurricaine evacuation and a closed office?
5 VTV // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I don’t care who’s fault it is. I have become seriously angry with the realization of just how little voice we really get. The two major parties OWN our government.
6 Ross Levin // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I don’t think LA is being completely unreasonable. It’s a legitimate problem with their absentee ballots. Of course, it could have been solved in a different way, but it’s not entirely ridiculous.
7 G.E. // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:47 pm
How can a ragtag group of people throw together a party and get their candidate on, but not Barr?
His campaign is pathetic. What’s more, it is for the state (and not the federal government) to determine its ballot requirements. Barr once again abandons his phony principles by appealing to a federal authority to overrule a state decision. So much for “states’ rights.”
8 G.E. // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:48 pm
The two parties are wings OF the government. They are owned by the various industrial complexes, which in turn, are owned by … for lack of a better term … the “new world order.”
9 Former LP Life Member // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Louisiana is one of the easiest states in the country. No signature requirement, you just have to pay $500 and get a full slate of electors. Nader filed two months earlier, but Sean Haugh forgot to check if it was being done and tried to file in the last couple of days.
Barr’s failure to get on the ballot in Maine, Connecticut, and Louisiana are all because Haugh failed to keep up with the progress and assumed others would not screw up.
10 inDglass // Sep 27, 2008 at 12:07 am
I feel the same way as VTV. However, I can’t get too mad at Louisiana for strictly following their deadline when the deadline is so late and the tasks necessary to get on the ballot are minimal. They have the third most options for President nationwide on their ballot behind Colorado and Florida, correct?
11 svf // Sep 27, 2008 at 8:27 am
assumed others would not screw up.
easiest pitfall of leadership. seriously. it sucks ass.
12 richardwinger // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:25 am
Even the Republicans and Democrats missed the statutory deadline in Louisiana. The statutory deadline was September 2, but as the 5th circuit itself says, the Reps and Dems didn’t hand in theirs til September 5.
13 Michael Seebeck // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:44 am
The bullshit of it is that the ruling indicates that absentee and overseas military voters would be adversely affected, which is not only the second time in a week-plus that we’ve heard this BS from that region, but also seems to becoming the newest “think of the children!” line.
14 Michael Seebeck // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:45 am
Yet they say they’ll appeal this one but not TX, which is FAR more important?
Another Barr misstep.
15 Coming Back to the LP // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:55 am
richardwinger // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:25 am
“Even the Republicans and Democrats missed the statutory deadline in Louisiana. The statutory deadline was September 2, but as the 5th circuit itself says, the Reps and Dems didn’t hand in theirs til September 5.”
Richard,
Can they package the two rulings: LA and TX into one Supreme Court appeal?
Seems the Supreme Court ought to either overturn one decision, or admit that the US does not have free elections.
16 G.E. // Sep 27, 2008 at 10:58 am
Yes, let the states’ rights Barr take his decision to the Supreme Court.
Very fitting for a man steeped in hypocrisy.
That would just about, but not quite, match him paying for his wife’s abortion.
17 Coming Back to the LP // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:06 am
GE,
Are you some kind of hypocrite? You advocate the right of succession – that would be a right of the States (among other groups).
It certainly is a sound Libertarian tactic to use States’ Rights as a tool to reduce the power of the Federal government.
It is also a sound Libertarian tactic to use the Supreme Court against the Federal government or any State government.
Seems like you are willing to use or cheer on the state to attack your opponents GE, why is that?
This appeal should go forward no matter which candidate or party was being screwed by the State.
18 Coming Back to the LP // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:07 am
Secession – sorry, spelling error.
19 Hugh Jass // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:07 am
On the bright side, this just means more votes for Ron Paul. However, I don’t see why the LP or the Barr campaign didn’t simply hand in their paperwork earlier, since Louisiana’s requirements are so easy. If a group of Paul activists were able to get Ron Paul on the ballot, I don’t see why the LP couldn’t get Barr on the ballot.
20 G.E. // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:08 am
No it’s not.
21 Hugh Jass // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:09 am
Coming back to the LP,
He wasn’t attacking Barr for using the Supreme Court, he was attacking Barr for using the Supreme Court while claiming to be the candidate of federalism.
22 G.E. // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:09 am
Next, I’m sure you’re going to tell me how paying for his wife’s abortion was really the pro-life thing to do.
23 Coming Back to the LP // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:19 am
Not pro-life,
but maybe pro-wife …
I think that both the pro-lifers and the pro-choicers are wrong and both are unlibertarian.
24 Coming Back to the LP // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:26 am
Hugh Jass // Sep 27, 2008 at 11:07 am
” I don’t see why the LP or the Barr campaign didn’t simply hand in their paperwork earlier, since Louisiana’s requirements are so easy. If a group of Paul activists were able to get Ron Paul on the ballot, I don’t see why the LP couldn’t get Barr on the ballot.”
Barr should be on the ballot in 49 states and DC. It was reasonable to skip Oklahoma and sue. The others were missed due to ballot drive management errors and incompetence. The people running these efforts should be fired for incompetence and not paid.
Still, the State of LA was wrong in keeping Barr and the Socialist off the ballot. The State of LA should be sued in the Supreme Court.
It is completely Libertarian to use the government courts against the government in order to gain freedom.
We have to use the government roads, breathe the government’s air, and we broadcast our messages over the government owned airwaves.
We will have to do these things until we can privatize the ownership of all government owned businesses and resources, including the courts.
25 Hugh Jass // Sep 27, 2008 at 12:31 pm
The government doesn’t own the air nor the airwaves. The Fairness Doctrine was repealed years ago, and nobody can own a non-scarce resource.
26 Trent Hill // Sep 27, 2008 at 12:33 pm
The Republicans, Democrats, LA Taxpayer’s Party–all turned in their paperwork on September 5th, Richard is right.
But the LP didnt turn in until September 8th, I believe.
27 Trent Hill // Sep 27, 2008 at 12:33 pm
“Still, the State of LA was wrong in keeping Barr and the Socialist off the ballot. The State of LA should be sued in the Supreme Court.
It is completely Libertarian to use the government courts against the government in order to gain freedom. ”
No, it isnt. Using federal power against a state is endorsing centralized governance.
28 Former LP Life Member // Sep 27, 2008 at 3:11 pm
It is so comforting that we have G.E. to tell us what is libertarian and what isn’t. He is so confident he needs only to make an assertion and doesn’t have to back it up.
And if someone responds to him, he is so clever as to avoid it by changing the subject.
Thank you, G.E., for being consistently disingenuous.
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