U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear North Dakota Libertarian Party Ballot Access Appeal

On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Libertarian Party of North Dakota v Jaeger, 11-1050. This is a ballot access case, which challenged the North Dakota law on how a minor party candidate for the state legislature gets on the ballot. No party can list a nominee on the November ballot for legislature unless between 10% and 15% of all the voters in the primary choose a minor party primary ballot. Because the overwhelming majority of primary voters are not interested in choosing a minor party’s primary ballot, and instead choose one of the major party primary ballots, the effect is that minor parties can never place nominees on the ballot for state legislature.

North Dakota has not had any minor party nominees on the November ballot for state legislature since 1976. The Libertarian Party’s cert petition had also pointed out that the 8th circuit, which upheld the law, make an important factual error in its decision. The 8th circuit said that the restriction is necessary to keep frivolous candidates off the ballot, because the primary vote test is the only ballot access barrier. The 8th circuit wrote that once a party qualifies (with a petition of 7,000 names) it is then forever afterwards on the ballot automatically. The truth is that minor parties go off the ballot if they don’t poll at least 5% for President, Governor, or Secretary of State. When this factual error had been pointed out to the 8th circuit, the panel refused to rehear the case and refused even to issue an amended opinion.

The Judge who wrote the 8th circuit opinion is Kermit Bye, a Clinton appointee. The two other judges who signed that opinion are Roger Wollman, a Reagan appointee, and Bobby Shepherd, a Bush Jr. appointee.


Comments

U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear North Dakota Libertarian Party Ballot Access Appeal — No Comments

  1. One more genius MORON LOST case in SCOTUS.

    Separate is NOT equal.
    Each election is NEW.

    How many centuries until there are ANY ballot access lawyers with ANY brain cells ???

  2. Media & ballot access activists in ND: To locate the current Libertarian Party of North Dakota Candidate for Congress who is willing to comment on the ND State Legislative requirements intelligently, please contact Eric Olson, at http://www.ericolson2012.com He answers the emails from his website’s contact page fairly quickly, and is good for a soundbite on the subject.

  3. Pingback: U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear North Dakota Libertarian Party Ballot Access Appeal | ThirdPartyPolitics.us

  4. It’s completely ridiculous when supposed learned and educated men won’t revisit their decision when they clearly did not understand the state’s ballot access laws and overlooked the 5% provision.
    The 5% provision (for president, governor or secretary of state) is in and of itself an unfair barrier. We have this as well in New Mexico. Polling 44% for a state level regulation commission office was not even given half a glance. The major parties heap contempt upon minor parties who seek to run for higher office before “starting local” yet these completely biased laws force us to seek those high ticket offices. It’s a Catch-22 and why they fail to see the logic in this is maddening, yet very clever when one considers just how much party cheek-kissing must have been necessary to advance up the ladder and be appointed to the court by Clinton, Reagan and Bush Jr.

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