Interested in going to the Libertarian National Convention, Washington D.C., May 24 – May 26?
Follow the link in the comments to fill out the Delegate Form and help make history!
Link: https://lpo.org/2024-convention-delegates/
Learn more: https://www.lp.org/libertarian-national-convention-2024/
Election season is on us again and we have a problem: unopposed seats.
By last count, at least 12 seats were running unopposed.
Those being:
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
Franklin County Coroner
Franklin County Recorder
Franklin County Sheriff
Franklin County Treasurer
State Representative Ohio House District 01
State Representative Ohio House District 02
State Representative Ohio House District 03
State Representative Ohio House District 05
State Representative Ohio House District 07
State Representative Ohio House District 08
State Representative Ohio House District 09
This in intolerable. This is not democracy. Surely, we can do better.
During last year’s election, I was appalled at the number of unopposed seats on the ballot. I would love to see fewer.
Letting seats run unopposed is giving up. It’s saying we no longer care who makes the decisions that affect our lives.
Surely, there must be some among those reading this who are willing and able to run for public office and at least give the voters a choice.
Well, I am.
I just so happens that I live in District 8, and I don’t like unopposed races either so I’m tossing my hat into the ring. I’m entering the race for State House Representative for District 8.
Do you live in any of the other Districts? Will you consider running?
If you are interested, See the Run for Office section at the end of this newsletter.
Hope to see you on the ballot.
Ken Holpp, Secretary, Franklin County Libertarian Party and District 8 Ohio Statehouse Representative candidate.
Franklin County needs energetic people to run for office! Libertarian elected officials get to make policy that reduces the scope of government and increases personal liberty.
Join Franklin County Libertarians for a “Candidate Quick Start Training”.
We have scheduled 2 candidate training sessions at the Whitehall branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
4445 E Broad St, Columbus, OH 43213
Both sessions will cover the same “Candidate Quick Start Training”.
Candidate Training – FCLPO
Franklin County Libertarians
Tuesday, February 06, 2024: 6:00PM – 8:30PM
Whitehall – Meeting Room 1
Candidate Training – FCLPO
Franklin County Libertarians
Thursday, February 15, 2024: 6:30PM – 8:30PM
Whitehall – Meeting Room 2
Candidate Training Agenda
Opening and guest introductions
Candidate introductions
• Name and office you want to run for
• Why do you want to run for this office?
• How do you see Libertarian philosophy being applied to your office?
Presentation: “Getting Started”
• What’s involved in being a candidate
• Legal steps to get on the ballot detailed
• Why legislative and statewide campaigns should be seen as two-year effort
• Translating Libertarian principles into policy
Questions and answers
• What do you most need to know to get off to a good start?
Close
Handouts
• Candidate Quick Start
• Elections Calendar
• Libertarian National Platform (condensed)
• Resources for Libertarian Candidates
How much can you campaign and win? Even just filing and having a simple website can win an election!
The county party is in a position to support candidates county wide to collect signatures for ballot access, fundraise, coordinate community events and run campaigns. Even just a “basic” campaign that involves filing paperwork, simple website, answering surveys and directing volunteers to help other more engaged candidates would be worthwhile and provide those communities with choice on the ballot.
You can run a basic, engaged or all out campaign.We already have several candidates across Franklin County that are gearing up “all out” campaigns and we know the more people running with the same message the more attention we can get everyone.The following elected roles will be UNOPPOSED going into the November General Election! (without an independent opponent they have already won that election)Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
Franklin County Coroner
Franklin County Recorder
Franklin County Sheriff
Franklin County Treasurer
State Representative Ohio House District 01
State Representative Ohio House District 03
State Representative Ohio House District 07
Review requirements for each role in the Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Requirement Guide.
The filing date for Independent candidates is March 18, 2024.
THREE district races for Ohio Assembly are UNOPPOSED for the general election in November 2024.
Get started today!
Get connected with FCLPO and get started!
Run for Local Office! Get started today!
The county party is in a position to support candidates county wide to collect signatures for ballot access, fundraise, coordinate community events and run campaigns. Even just a “basic” campaign that involves filing paperwork, simple website, answering surveys and directing volunteers to help other more engaged candidates would be worthwhile and provide those communities with choice on the ballot.
We already have several candidates across Franklin County that are gearing up “all out” campaigns and we know the more people running with the same message the more attention we can get everyone.
The following elected roles will be UNOPPOSED going into the November General Election! (without an independent opponent they have already won that election)
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
Franklin County Coroner
Franklin County Recorder
Franklin County Sheriff
Franklin County Treasurer
State Representative Ohio House District 01
State Representative Ohio House District 02
State Representative Ohio House District 03
State Representative Ohio House District 05
State Representative Ohio House District 07
State Representative Ohio House District 08
State Representative Ohio House District 09
Review requirements for each role in the Ohio Secretary of State Candidate Requirement Guide.
The filing date for Independent candidates is March 18, 2024.
SEVEN district races for Ohio Assembly are UNOPPOSED for the general election in November 2024.
Get started today!
Franklin County needs energetic people to run for office! Libertarian elected officials get to make policy that reduces the scope of government and increases personal liberty.
Please complete this form, and our Political Director will be in contact with you.
Franklin County Libertarians wishing to run in “partisan” races will need to file as Independent.
The county party pledges assistance and resources to qualify.
Partisan candidates with ballot access (not Libertarians, booo) are required to file by Wed, Dec 20th.
Independent candidates have until Mon, Mar 18th, 2024.
The petition signature requirements for party candidates are different for each race, but substantially lower than the requirements for independent candidates.
Example: State Representative for District 6
Partisan candidate signatures required: 50 (max 150)
Independent candidate signatures required:
273 (max 819)
Now, you might be wondering “Just how hard is it to collect 50 signatures?”
Short answer: hard
Long answer: Not just 50 signatures, 50 validated signatures.
The person signing the petition must be a registered voter in the district or area of your election. Not registered, not counted.
The person signing the petition must have voted in any election in the last 2 years. Not voted, not counted. (This is squishy.)
The signature on the petition must match the signature the county board of election has on record. No match, not counted.
On average experienced circulators can collect 50 to 100 signatures a day, with validity averaging 1 in 4.
It also depends on location and time of day. Going door-to-door produces better signatures and higher validatity. Standing in front of grocery stores or bustling shopping areas produces lower validity.
Thus means you can’t just get the bare minimum 50, you must collect more, and experience recommends 2x more.
Even longtime incumbent candidates collect plenty more than the minimum, and potential candidates are disqualified all the time for missing the minimum by as few as 1 signature. 
In 2018 the Libertarian Party of Ohio submitted 102k signatures to qualify for minor party status.
Roughly 64k were deemed “valid” by county boards of election.
Get that ball rolling now, the sooner we connect, the better our chances of getting you elected!
Run for local or state office: https://www.fclpo.org/run-for-local-office/
2023 August Special
August 8, 2023
Registered Voters – Total -> 874,980
Ballots Cast – Total -> 334,864
Voter Turnout – Total -> 38.27%
Lori M. Tyack – CLERK OF THE FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
Ben Kessler – CITY OF BEXLEY MAYOR BEXLEY
Greta Kearns – CITY OF GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS MAYOR GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS
Lance M. Westcamp – CITY OF GROVEPORT MAYOR GROVEPORT
Sloan Spalding – CITY OF NEW ALBANY MAYOR NEW ALBANY
Chris Shook – CITY OF REYNOLDSBURG ATTORNEY REYNOLDSBURG
Joe Begeny – CITY OF REYNOLDSBURG MAYOR REYNOLDSBURG
Brad Nicodemus – CITY OF WHITEHALL ATTORNEY WHITEHALL
Michael T. Bivens – CITY OF WHITEHALL MAYOR WHITEHALL
Shaquille Alexander – CITY OF WHITEHALL TREASURER WHITEHALL
John Mathys – VILLAGE OF BRICE MAYOR BRICE
Brannon Dawson – VILLAGE OF HARRISBURG MAYOR HARRISBURG
Christie Ward – VILLAGE OF LOCKBOURNE MAYOR LOCKBOURNE
Matthew P. Cincione – VILLAGE OF MARBLE CLIFF MAYOR MARBLE CLIFF
Daniel Schlichting – VILLAGE OF RIVERLEA MAYOR RIVERLEA
Christopher Lopez – ESC of Central Ohio (Franklin Subdistrict)
Walley Obert – HAMILTON LSD BOARD MEMBER Hamilton Local
Becky Kent – BROWN TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Brown Township
Deborah Steele – CLINTON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Clinton Township
Linzie Justus – FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Franklin Township
Lisa E. Shirkey – HAMILTON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Hamilton Township
Ron Grossman – JACKSON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Jackson Township
Ronald A. McClure – JACKSON TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Jackson Township
Ken Jones – JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Jefferson Township
Laurie Vermeer – MADISON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Madison Township
Nancy M. White – MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Mifflin Township
Richard J. Angelou – MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Mifflin Township
Michele M. Elliott – PERRY TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Perry Township
Chet J. Chaney – PERRY TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Perry Township
Eugene Zappitelli – PLAIN TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Plain Township
Jill Beckett‐Hill – PLAIN TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Plain Township
Paula J. Wilkins – PLEASANT TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Pleasant Township
Edward Sheets – PLEASANT TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Pleasant Township
Michael D. Farley – SHARON TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Sharon Township
Tony Palmer – SHARON TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE Sharon Township
Natalie West‐Nicodemus – TRURO TOWNSHIP FISCAL OFFICER Truro Township
There are several reasons why a candidate may be unopposed.
The most common is that no one else files to run. 🤷♀️
Learn about ballot access, running for local office, state and local issues, and developing a county party to support local candidates and issues.
Jackie Ray’s Grill 20 Cromley St
Ashville, OH 43103 United States
Get directions and learn more: https://www.fclpo.org/event/regional-development-meeting-pickaway/
Thanks to everyone who volunteered and donated for our successful float and booth at the Stonewall Pride March and Festival!
Kudos to Drake and Cooper Lundstrom for their patience and charm, spell binding the crowd with balloon twisting artistry!
Your support makes events like this possible! Please donate, volunteer or get involved!
We need your help to get the Libertarian Party regain ballot access in Ohio. This article helps explain what ballot access is, why it is important to us, and why the Libertarian Party of Ohio does not currently have it. To volunteer, check the “Circulate Petitions” or “Validate Petitions” box on the Volunteer form.
“Ballot access” is the right to put a political party label under a candidate’s name on the ballot. Having ballot access also enables a party to hold a primary. Under Ohio law (ORC 3501.38, amended in 2013 by Senate Bill 193), a political party must get 3% of the vote for Governor or 3% of the vote for President to gain ballot access for four years. The party must again get 3% of the vote for President or Governor to renew its access for another four years. Supporters of SB 193 designed and timed this bill to prevent the Libertarian Party of Ohio (LPO) from appearing on the ballot in 2014. To correct this injustice, the LPO filed several lawsuits. The federal district court in the first case, Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Husted, ordered the Secretary of State to keep the LPO on the ballot in 2014 (Court documents). This case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which decided to let stand a federal appeals court ruling against the LPO. A suit filed in the state court system in 2015 challenged the constitutionality of SB 193 on the basis of Article V, Section 7 of the Ohio Constitution.
The law requires us to circulate petitions containing more than 55,000 valid signatures (with at least 500 each from eight of Ohio’s 16 Congressional Districts), and file them by August 2023 to allow our candidates to show the Libertarian label on the ballot. Because petition gathering usually results in a large number of invalid signatures, the state party will attempt to gather at least 110,000 signatures statewide. The Libertarian Party of Ohio office will be open throughout this year to receive and validate signatures using a method proven successful in our effort to get our 2020 Presidential candidate Gary Johnson on the Ohio ballot as a Libertarian. Volunteers are validating the signatures in a process so laborious that — to do the process correctly — it would take a full-time employee over a year and a half to validate the petitions.
