Category: Ballot Access

Back On The Treadmill

We’ve got good news and we’ve got bad news.

The bad news is the Libertarian Party of Ohio has lost ballot access… again. The November Presidential election did not provide the votes needed for Libertarians to retain our status as a minor party. The Ohio Secretary of State released guidance regarding our ballot access in response to a Libertarian Candidate in Hamilton County that does not favor us.

What does this mean? Well, we’re back on the treadmill. We will need to collect ballot access petition signatures again to seek recognition for Minor Party Status. Based on the math we will need to collect 59,742 valid signatures from valid Ohio voters, at minimum, and with past experience on the matter, the more realistic number is over 100,000 signatures.

The good news is our Libertarian Party of Ohio Executive Committee has risen to the challenge and already formed a new Ballot Access Committee and produced a valid “Petition to Form a Minor Political Party”. This is the critical first step in our next adventure.

The better news is your Franklin County Libertarians have a plan. Over the past 4 years we have looked at how the petition process works in Ohio, how it works digitally in other states, and how we can take advantage of social media, outreach platforms and our amazing volunteers to  facilitate and accelerate the laborious process of collecting and validating so many petitions. 

Hint, we won’t be standing in front of BMV’s and libraries.

We can’t share our entire plan with you just yet, the FCLP Executive Committee has approved a framework to move forward and we will have more to share soon.

We are very excited about the opportunities this challenge provides, not just for Libertarians, but all issues and candidates that have burdensome petitioning requirements.

We’ll be in touch when we’re ready to share and appreciate all the hard work and dedication from our incredible volunteers. We are working to live up to your expectations and provide the best tools to get this important work done.

May Fortune Favor the Bold

Michael Sweeney

At Large, Executive Committee

Franklin County Libertarians 

Urgent Party Business – County Central Committee Organization Meeting

In accordance with the By-Laws of the Franklin County Libertarian Party (FCLPO), the Constitution of the Libertarian Party of Ohio (LPO) and the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), the current County Central Committee members have scheduled our upcoming organizational meeting and County Convention for Saturday, May 30th, between 9am and 2pm, with possible party business as late as 5pm.

Voting for Central Committee Roles

In-Person Secret Ballot – 9am to 12pm, May 30th, 2020 at LPO Office

Voting for Executive Committee Roles

In-Person Secret Ballot – 9am to 12pm, May 30th, 2020 at LPO Office

Election Tally – 1pm, May 30th, 2020 at LPO Office

LPO Office

6230 Busch Blvd, Suite 102
Columbus, OH 43229

Map

How will voting happen?

The organizational meeting will include limited in-person voting to satisfy the need for a secret ballot, per FCLPO By-Laws.

There will be an election of Central Committee roles, election of Executive Committee roles, and then members are welcome to stay at LPO Office to participate in-person or go home and participate electronically.

In-person voting for Central Committee and Executive Committee roles will happen concurrently with two ballot boxes, supervised by a witness. Once the two election results have been tallied, they will be reported to all members.

As a courtesy for our new Central Committee members we will be splitting the entrances to the LPO Office, one dedicated for access to a private space for in-person voting, and the other door providing access to the main LPO Office space for participating in presentations and meetings. These will be marked clearly on arrival.

After all Committee Members have been contacted with the results from the two elections, the new Executive Committee Chair may decide, at their own discretion, if it is reasonable to hold a meeting of the new Executive Committee immediately or wait until a future time. If you are planning to run for election to the FCLPO Executive Committee we do ask that you plan to be available until 5pm, either in-person or electronically. (A quorum of 60% is required to conduct business, so if the new Chair finds at least that many newly elected members are available they can proceed with an official party meeting. A meeting without quorum cannot ratify official party business, but discussion of future business is certainly always welcome anytime.)

Write-In “John Stewart” for District 12!

OH District 12 Libertarians!

Please be aware, our own John Stewart, long time Libertarian activist, is running as write-in for District 12.
In addition to pulling a Libertarian Primary ballot you must write-in “John Stewart” for the District 12 US Congress election.

Not sure what district you live in?
Look up your Sample Ballot!
https://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/search-polling-locations

It will look similar to this!

Early primary voting is OPEN!

Get out and #VoteLibertarian

Remember you MUST ASK for a Libertarian ballot, do not just accept what is handed to you.

If you are told that is not possible or the poll worker acts confused contact LPO or FCLPO IMMEDIATELY. All poll workers should be trained to know and not impose their own bias on the process.

Franklin County Voters go to:
FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS

1700 Morse Rd, Columbus, Ohio 43229 (Directions)

Franklin County Libertarians field 16 candidates for County Central Committee

Congratulations to the following candidates who have been certified for the County Central Committee election on March 17th, 2020!

 Marie Myers  Columbus  Ward 46
 Heather O. Sheets  Columbus  Ward 57
 Albert L. Vest  Columbus  Ward 67
 Chad Harris  Columbus  Ward 69
 Christopher Gill  Columbus  Ward 77
 Harold D Thomas  Columbus  Ward 84
 Paul J Ridenour  Gahanna  Ward 02
 Michael Sweeney  Gahanna  Ward 03
 Drake Lundstrom  Gahanna  Ward 04
 John S. Stewart  Gahanna  Ward 04
 Jordan T Bertke  Hilliard  Ward 04
 Scott T. Smith  Jackson Township
 Patrick J Hoffman  Madison Township
 Jennifer Lynn Flower  Prairie Township
 Kenneth D. Holpp  Worthington  Ward 01
 David Nadolny  Worthington  Ward 02

#VoteLibertarian

https://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/BOEL-website/media/Election-Info/2020/(1)%20Primary%20Election%20-%20March%2010,%202020/(2)%20Candidates%20and%20Issues/2020-Primary-Certified-Candidate-List.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3psP3_l1d1hjqbmByh02Cl6h9XhNKM0Bc_upKPAwTqmGQNf-fT2BLdQpc

The important role of Central Committee members

We’ve fielded a few questions about why it is important to have a vibrant and diverse County Central Committee. Beyond the vital roles CentCom provides for electing the Executive Committee, endorsing candidates and approving By-Law amendments, it also functions as a reliable pool of Libertarian Party affiliated electors for candidate and issue petitions.
Anyone that has spent any time collecting signatures for petition knows the unique struggle the process involves. Asking, getting a yes, checking a person is eligible, getting a valid signature, filling out the form, all steps that could cause trouble down the road.
As the Franklin County Libertarian Party grows and flexes is political abilities, we will benefit from more hands pushing and eyes watching for opportunity.
Growing our Central Committee is crucial to growing a strong and dynamic Libertarian Party.
We cannot do this without you and thank you sincerely for your effort. It is appreciated.
#VoteLibertarian

– Michael Sweeney
Chair, Executive Committee
Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio

Urgent Party Business – Become A Central Committee Member!

We are pleased to report that the Franklin County Board of Elections has accepted our plan to be included in the March 17th, 2020 Ohio primary election.

Seven years, $250 thousand dollars, hundreds of volunteer hours and 102 thousand signatures from liberty minded Ohioans. This is what it has taken for the Libertarian Party of Ohio to be recognized and allowed to participate in Ohio public elections again.

We have pushed this as far as we can. We need you to take the next step and lead the Franklin County Libertarians to success.

I am inviting you to get involved and submit the linked Declaration of Candidacy to become a member of the Franklin County Libertarian Party Central Committee. Print out the form, fill it out, put it in an envelope, add a stamp and place it in the mail before Dec 18th. You do not need any signatures beyond your own! When your declaration is received by the Board of Elections you will show them that Libertarians are more then arm-chair activists; we are in our communities, contributing and working.

What does it mean to be a Central Committee Member?

Partisan Duties & Responsibilities

Here is a list of opportunities for every township or ward committee member.

  • Represent the Township or Ward to the Party
  • Attend meetings of the Libertarian Central Committee to organize and supervise the County Libertarian Party operations and to endorse candidates (3 or 4 a year).
  • Vote in the election of local Libertarian Township or Ward Leaders.
  • Participate in local and county meetings and events.

Local Non-Partisan Leadership

As a Central Committee Member in your ward or township, you are a leader in your neighborhood regardless of the strength of our party in your community. You will find that candidates and public officials of all parties will be interested in your ideas as to what needs to be done in your community.

We have little time for this crucial next step. The filing deadline, Dec 18th, is fast approaching. We need as many Libertarians as possible to make their voices heard and loudly show the establishment that we will not be silenced or held back.

We are counting on you to move the Franklin County Libertarian Party forward again.

Thanks in advance.

Your colleague in liberty,
Michael Sweeney
Chair, Executive Committee
Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio

URGENT PARTY BUSINESS

MAIL FORM BEFORE DEC 18th

Declaration of Candidacy – No Petition – Party Primary –   County Central Committee (PDF)

FILLING OUT THIS FORM:

The Ohio Primary Election date for this form is:

3/17/2020

The Franklin County Libertarian Party of Ohio Central Committee is organized around wards or township.
If you live in a city such as Columbus, Dublin, Gahanna, Westerville, Grove City, etc, you will fill in the line:

• Ward ________ City or Village of __________

If you do not live in a city, but an unincorpo- rated area of a township then fill in the line:

• Township of __________

Not sure what ward or township you live in? Look it up.

https://vote.franklincountyohio.gov/Search- Polling-Locations/

MAIL FORM TO:

Franklin County Board of Elections
c/o Declaration of C­­andidacy
1700 Morse Rd
Columbus, Oh 43229

RE: LIBERTARIAN PARTY STATUS CHALLENGE – FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF OHIO
DATE:  MAY 29, 2019

The Franklin County Board of Elections met on May 28, 2019, at 2:00 pm to consider a challenge to the candidacy of Libertarian candidate Rob Bender for Reynoldsburg Ward 3 City Council Representative.

The pretext of the challenge to Mr. Bender is the validity of his candidate petition signatures and the Minor Party status of the Libertarian Party to field candidates under Ohio law. The Ohio GOP has a long history of challenging Libertarian candidates in order to preserve the two-party system.

The Administrator for the BOE verified, in the May 28 hearing, that the signatures are valid and sufficient for the candidacy. Unhappy with that answer, Board Member Doug Preisse (R) asked his employee if he would like to “change his mind.” The answer was, “no.”

Too bad Mr. Preisse.

The Libertarian Party of Ohio gained Minor Party status in July 2018 after submitting over 100,000 petition signatures as required under Ohio law. Minor Party status remains valid if either the party’s gubernatorial or presidential candidate earns at least 3% of the vote. Ohio law allows a Minor Party two election cycles to reach this threshold.

The 2016 Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 3.17% of votes in Ohio, yet was ruled to not have achieved the required 3%.

Libertarian Party attorney and Capital Law School professor Mark Brown represented Mr. Bender at the hearing. He directed the Board to the facts that the challenge on ballot access was made outside the time allowed for such challenges and the elector bringing forth the challenge is not a Libertarian. The challenger to the petition was not present at the hearing.

Franklin County Libertarian Party Chair, Michael Sweeney, said of the challenge,

“We know the law is on our side, but the Republican and Democratic Board Members are not. They appeared unprepared for this hearing, baffled by their own rules, and casually claimed the benefit of ignorance that they zealously deny others who come before them.”

The BOE will meet again on Monday, June 3, 2019, at 3pm to consider this matter, which was continued at the request of BOE attorney to review Ohio law.

The Libertarian Party of Ohio annual Conference will be held in Toledo on May 31 – June 1 and is open to the public.

For more information on ballot access laws or the GOP history of ballot censorship contact:

Franklin County Libertarian Party  614-412-2026

Political Director, Kryssi Wichers 740-808-2158

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The Unknown Future

The election has come and gone and, despite all our efforts, we fell short of 3%.  In fact, the combined total of both the Libertarian and Green Parties fell short of 3%.

What does this bode for the future?

Unknown.

By a strict reading of Ohio Election Law we should still have access until the 2020 Presidential Election, but when has government ever followed the law?

Should they deny us access yet again, what then?  Do we roll over and play dead?  De we surrender to the politics of fear that drive the mainstream Parties?

In a word, NO!

A friend of mine majored in History, with a particular interest in Church History.  One night, several months ago, he spent almost an entire hour explaining in great detail his belief that the worst thing that ever happened to the Christian Church was it being not only legalized by the Emperor Constantine but being made the official religion of the Roman Empire.  Until that time, he argued, believers had to be committed to the cause because their very lives were at stake.  Afterwards, as a legally recognized religion it became fat, lazy and corrupt in just a few generations.  He argued that the loss of religious liberty feared by so many today might be the best thing that could happen to the church because the dead wood would be cut away and only those most committed would remain.

So, if we lose ballot access will that spell our doom?

Again, NO.

Some might be tempted to walk away from the Libertarian Party in frustration, believing we will never have a chance, but those who remain will be those most committed.  And those most committed can work wonders.

Ballot access or no, our core message of liberty will remain the same. Others will say that our votes are doubly wasted and all we’re doing is shouting at brick walls, but walls have been known to crumble.

All the loss of access will mean is our task will be a little bit harder.

But worthwhile causes usually are.

Ken Holpp, Communications Director, FCLP