On the evening of March 6, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this strong motion for a preliminary injunction, to prevent the state from printing Libertarian primary ballots without the gubernatorial and attorney general candidates’ names. The party didn’t need to file a new lawsuit; it is relying on the fact that its original 2013 federal case is still open. That case is Libertarian Party of Ohio v Husted, southern district, 2:13cv-953.

The brief mentions previous Ohio Secretary of State rulings, and opinions of Ohio state courts, that just because a circulator doesn’t identify his or her employer is not reason to invalidate the petitions. Even past Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, a Republican who invalidated the Libertarian Party’s 2004 petition because the wording on the petition didn’t match the statutory language, had ruled, “Do not invalidate a part-petition if the employer information…is blank or incomplete.” The brief also makes a case that it is unconstitutional in any event to force circulators to identify their employers, or to treat paid circulators differently than volunteer circulators.