From Ballot Access News:
On July 30, the Tennessee Libertarian Party filed a federal lawsuit, seeking to require that its gubernatorial nominee, Daniel Lewis, be listed on the ballot as “Libertarian” instead of “independent.” Lewis v Goins, 3:14cv-1565, middle district.
From the LPTN website:
The Libertarian Party of Tennessee filed a lawsuit in Federal Court challenging Tennessee’s fifty-three year old ballot access law. Patricia Gilmore, a Davidson County Voter, joined in the lawsuit because of major problems with the two-party system. Gilmore remarked:
In this broken election system that apparently values dollar bills over individuals, people are losing their natural rights to free expression via association. A closed ballot, which fiercely restricts access to only two parties, does not allow voters the ability to freely associate with any party that best represents their interests, as opposed to special interests. Very few voters have the time and ability to research every candidate in every election and are discouraged from voting by the distinct impression that they may only associate with parties Bad and Worse.
Bonnie Tyndall a voter from Williamson County joined the lawsuit because she feels voters have a right to know about the candidates on the ballot, and the “independent” label provides no useful information to voters. Daniel Lewis, the Libertarian Party of Tennessee’s 2014 nominee for governor and a voter in Davidson County joined the lawsuit because ballot access restrictions violate the fundamental rights of voters to vote in an informed manner. Lewis remarks:
Ballot access restrictions obstruct the rights of individual voters to cast an informed vote in an election. Archival recordings of the Tennessee Legislature debating this issue in 1961 show a legislative intent to force alternative party candidates to run as independents, so that voters would not know that they are associated with a political party or with which party they were associated. The law made it nearly impossible for new political parties to form.
View a copy of the complaint
I really want to read the complaint, but I have enough to keep my blood boiling with Richard Winger’s daily updates about what’s going on today, without going to back and reading the (no doubt much more blatant) two-party (one-party?) self-serving in a Southern state legislature in 1961.
As an academic question, while of course Libertarian candidates should be entitled to their ballot label, are there any thoughts whether being labeled “independent” vs. a minor-party label actually does depress vote totals? It defeats the desired purpose of expressing votes for a Libertarian-labeled candidate, but might being forced to run as an independent actually result in more votes cast for the candidate? Just a thought. (not that I encourage or desire Libertarians to eschew the ballot label, and I’m glad to see LPTN defending it). Several candidates have actually won statewide elections as independents in recent years, and more have placed double-digits- a few even in genuine three-way races. Other than Ventura ’98 (Reform), I can’t think of any candidates who won a statewide with a third-party ballot label in recent years.
Here in Wisconsin, any “independent” candidate can self-describe with up to five words. Technically that’s what all twelve Libertarians are doing (with simply “Libertarian”). If/when one of our statewides (hint hint) gets >1%, we can then designate LPWI as being a qualified party again. So while I’m really glad we have that option, and the ballot will not in any way indicate our lack of current official party status, I do look a little askance at allowing such ballot labels as “Peoples Party” (by a true independent, unrelated to any other party by that name). Another example being used by one state leg. independent is “Serving Liberty and the People” It seems arguably misleading, to allow the endorsement of a “party” which doesn’t actually exist to appear on the ballot. Not that I would restrict it, but I don’t like that candidates do it.
Keep up the pressure in the 6th circuit area of TN, KY, OH, and MI. Good luck.