Free Republic

I have been talking to people about the Republican Liberty Caucus, but I have been having a hard time explaining the issue to people. Our statements of principle have always centered around smaller government and proptecting our rights. A surprisingly small majority of Americans support these two principles, but it's enough to form a political movement. The RLC has its own statement of principles, and its own conventions. Members are not expected to tow the party line, especially for RINO's. I believe that we should sell the RLC as a separate political group that supports libertarians, constitutionalists, reform party members,...

The Libertarian Party announced Wednesday that it plans to file a lawsuit challenging the State Board of Elections’ decision to drop the party’s official status in North Carolina. “We’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens,” said Thomas Hill, state party chairman. Hill said North Carolina has one of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country and said even Iraq has more parties on the ballot. “That’s just vulgar,” he added. The state board decertified the Libertarian Party on Monday because the party failed to secure at least 75,000 signatures on a petition needed to remain on the...

Ralph Nader is charging the Democratic Party establishment with using "dirty tricks" and "political bigotry" to keep him off the ballot in important battleground states in last month's presidential election. "They did all the things that are described by the phrase 'dirty tricks,' and succeeded in getting us off some very important ballots," the perennial presidential wannabe tells Counterpunch magazine. Nader complained that state party leaders filed "21 phony lawsuits" that his team had to defend against. "We won most of the state Supreme Court decisions, but they harassed and intimidated our signature gatherers," he said. Among the states that...

PHOENIX - A federal appeals court on Friday rejected independent candidate Ralph Nader's bid to appear on Arizona's ballot. The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came two weeks after early voting for the Nov. 2 presidential election had begun in Arizona. Nader attorney Robert E. Barnes said it's unlikely that the campaign would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. Nader had filed a lawsuit in mid-August alleging the state's requirements for third-party candidates are unconstitutional. A federal judge had denied his request to appear on the ballot and refused to give Nader another chance...

CINCINNATI - A federal appeals court has ruled that it would not grant presidential candidate Ralph Nader an injunction to block a lower court's order that removed him from the Ohio ballot. Nader had appealed an Oct. 12 ruling by U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus, who refused to place the independent on the ballot because of fraud by signature collectors. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in its decision Monday that Nader could not demonstrate a likelihood of success on the merits of the case. "The state administrative hearing officer found substantial evidence of...

HARRISBURG, Pa. The state Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Ralph Nader off Pennsylvania's presidential ballot. The one-page order, released this afternoon, did not include any explanation. The intermediate level Commonwealth Court ruled last week that Nader's nomination papers left him more than six-thousand signatures short of the more than 25-thousand needed by registered voters to be listed on the ballot as an independent candidate. Nader's lawyers had appealed to the state Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to place independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the ballot in Pennsylvania, upholding a state court finding of flawed signatures on voter petition sheets. Nader asked the high court on Thursday to review Pennsylvania's decision to remove him. A state court cited legal problems with his nomination papers that left him thousands of signatures short of the number required for the Nov. 2 ballot. Nader campaign spokesman Kevin Zeese called the decision "disappointing" and said Nader would continue to appeal decisions made on the state level, even after the election. Nader's request...

WASHINGTON - Ralph Nader (news - web sites) asked the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) on Thursday to place him on the general election ballot in Pennsylvania, a battleground state expected to be critical in the outcome of the Nov. 2 presidential election. In a sign the high court planned to move swiftly, Justice David H. Souter immediately requested that Pennsylvania officials file a response to Nader's emergency request by 2:30 p.m. Friday. Nader's late-evening filing asks the Supreme Court to review Pennsylvania's decision to remove the independent candidate because of legal problems with his nomination papers that...

HARRISBURG - A state court knocked Ralph Nader off Pennsylvania's presidential ballot on Wednesday, citing thousands of fraudulent signatures including "Mickey Mouse" and "Fred Flintstone." Describing the petitions as "rife with forgeries," Commonwealth Court President Judge James Gardner Colins said that fewer than 19,000 of the more than 51,000 signatures that Nader's supporters submitted were valid. Nader needed at least 25,697 to be listed on the ballot as an independent candidate. "I am compelled to emphasize that this signature-gathering process was the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated upon this court," Colins said in a 15-page ruling that followed...

HARRISBURG -- A state court knocked Ralph Nader off Pennsylvania's presidential ballot on Wednesday, citing thousands of fradulent signatures including "Mickey Mouse" and "Fred Flintstone." The ruling was one of two new setbacks for Nader. Also Wednesday, a federal judge denied the consumer advocate's bid for a spot on Hawaii's ballot.

Court bans Nader from Pa. ballot Wednesday, October 13, 2004 By Tom Barnes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette HARRISBURG -- Commonwealth Court today issued its long-awaited decision on the independent presidential candidacy of Ralph Nader, ordering the consumer advocate off the ballot in Pennsylvania. The court said it had reviewed 51,273 petition signatures submitted by Nader campaign workers and found only 18,818 were valid -- far short of the 25,697 valid names he needed to run for president in Pennsylvania. Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of eight objectors, most of whom were from the Pittsburgh area, who had gone to court after criticizing...

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas -- The Arkansas Supreme Court on Friday granted independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader a place on Arkansas' ballot for the November 2 general election. The court ruling overturned a circuit court judge's order to election officials that would have kept Nader's name off the ballot. Circuit Judge Timothy Fox, ruling in a lawsuit brought by the state Democratic Party, said the signatories who petitioned for Nader name to be on the ballot had not declared him as their candidate. Nader appealed Fox's ruling. In Pennsylvania, meanwhile, the state Commonwealth Court delayed a decision on Nader's request to...

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Friday afternoon that independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader can be on the November general election ballot in Arkansas. The state Supreme Court ordered the state to include Nader and vice presidential candidate Peter Miguel Camejo on the ballots as the Populist Party of Arkansas candidates. The court ruling overturns a circuit court judge who ordered election officials not to print the November second ballots with Nader's name on them. Circuit Judge Timothy Fox, ruling in a lawsuit brought by the state Democratic Party, said the signators who petitioned for Nader to be on the...

Posted on Thu, Sep. 30, 2004 Wis. Supreme Court rules Nader on the state ballot JR ROSS Associated Press MADISON, Wis. - The state Supreme Court decided Thursday to put independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader back on the Wisconsin ballot. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin sued to knock Nader off the ballot, arguing the longtime consumer activist had failed to meet the minimal standards required to be listed as a presidential candidate. But the court ruled Nader had substantially complied with Wisconsin requirements for ballot access and should be on the ballot. The ruling overturned a circuit judge's decision earlier...

Little Rock (AP) - Lawyers made oral arguments before the Arkansas Supreme Court Thursday in Ralph Nader's challenge of a judge's ruling that would keep him off the Arkansas ballot. Nader's lawyers say the independent candidate should be on the ballot because laws that would keep his name off are flawed. (snip) Last week, the Supreme Court ordered a halt to the printing of presidential ballots until it decides whether Nader is qualified for the ballot.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's secretary of state says Ralph Nader won't be on the state's presidential ballot because of forged signatures on petition forms and petitions circulated by non-Ohioans. Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell says today the independent candidate was short of the 5,000 valid signature required to qualify. Blackwell, a Republican, said Nader's backers wound up with 3,700 valid signatures. They had turned in nearly 15,000 signatures, but about 6,400 were declared valid after review by local elections boards. An additional 2,700 were invalidated following a hearing last week at Blackwell's office. Democrats blame Nader's presence on the ballot...

Nader Supporters Lose Supreme Court Appeal 1 hour, 5 minutes ago By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a last-ditch bid to put Ralph Nader (news - web sites) on Oregon's election ballot. Nader supporters had asked the court last week to block Oregon from printing ballots without his name. The court declined, although Justice Stephen Breyer (news - web sites) noted he supported the stay. The court's action was good news for supporters of presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), who feared Nader would draw votes from the Democrat. His...

Judge orders Nader off Wisconsin ballot, appeal filed By JR ROSS Associated Press Writer MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Dane County judge Tuesday kicked Ralph Nader off the Wisconsin ballot, prompting an immediate appeal by the independent presidential candidate with the state Supreme Court. While Judge Michael Nowakowski ruled Nader should be left off the ballot, he also prohibited the Elections Board from sending county clerks a certified list of presidential candidates until Wednesday afternoon to give Nader's backers a chance to appeal. There was no immediate word from the Supreme Court whether it would accept the case. The decision...

AUGUSTA, Maine - Maine Democrats lost a bid to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's name off the Nov. 2 ballot as a judge upheld the state's petition review procedures. ``We expected logic and common sense to prevail, and they did,'' Nancy Oden, a Nader elector from Jonesboro, said after Superior Court Justice S. Kirk Studstrup's ruling was made public Tuesday. Maine Democratic Party Chairwoman Dorothy Melanson had appealed to Superior Court after Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky brushed aside a challenge, ruling Nader's name should appear on the ballot. She said Maine election officials should not have approved petitions...

N.M. Court Orders Nader's Name on Ballot 38 minutes ago By BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press Writer SANTA FE, N.M. - The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Ralph Nader (news - web sites)'s name to be placed on New Mexico's Nov. 2 ballot as an independent presidential candidate, turning back a Democratic challenge to his candidacy. The court announced its decision after deliberating for about 90 minutes following oral arguments in the case earlier Tuesday. The New Mexico Democratic Party brought a lawsuit against Nader after he was certified as a candidate by Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. Nader...

Tuesday,September 28,2004 Judge rules to keep Nader on ballot AUGUSTA (AP) - Maine Democrats have lost a bid to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader's name off the November ballot. A Maine Superior Court judge ruled that state election officials followed legal procedure in allowing the consumer activist's name to go on the ballot. In his ruling, Justice S. Kirk Studstrup rejected a challenge by Maine Democratic Party Chairwoman Dorothy Melanson, who said petitions included the wrong name for a Nader elector and party identification forms weren't on the petitions. Studstrup said state election officials followed proper procedure and did...

September 27, 2004 -- New York state's Independence Party yesterday nominated Ralph Nader for president, giving him a second line on the state's ballot in November that could siphon votes away from Democrat John Kerry.

Ballot Access News has the latest tally of which ballots where Nader will be listed as a candidate.

Challenge to Nader fails in N.H.; appeal possible By Erik Stetson, Associated Press, 9/24/2004 17:00 CONCORD, N.H. (AP) The state Ballot Law Commission voted 5-0 on Friday to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Dear Friend, In the latest demonstration of political bigotry, we find that the Oregon Supreme Court has over-ruled a trial judge decision and ordered the removal of the Nader/Camejo ticket from the state ballot. The shut-down decision came just twenty minutes before the ballots in Oregon were scheduled to be printed. As in 2000, a solid majority of the American people want me in the Presidential debates this year. But Kerry and Bush want me out because they know I will challenge them on the Iraq quagmire, the corporate crime wave, and their opposition to Medicare for all and a...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A state judge Friday blocked Ralph Nader from appearing on the November general election ballot as an independent candidate for president. District Judge Wendy York ruled that Nader didn't qualify as an independent candidate in New Mexico because he was running as the nominee for minor parties in other states, including the Reform Party.The state Democratic Party had challenged Nader's candidacy, contending that he wasn't eligible to run as an independent in New Mexico. The party also claimed his nominating petitions lacked enough valid signatures of registered voters.State elections law defines an independent as someone not affiliated...

Oregon's Democrat secretary of state, Bill Bradbury, an unabashed supporter of John Kerry, has succeeded after all in his scheme to dump Ralph Nader from the swing state's presidential ballot. Marion County Judge Paul Lipscomb had faulted Bradbury for using unwritten rules - i.e., doing whatever he felt like - to deem some petitions for the independent candidate unworthy. But Oregon's Supreme Court, acting as partisan as Dan Rather and Mary Mapes combined, ruled Wednesday in favor of Bradbury and fellow Democrats. Nader, like Bugs Bunny, says he'll fight all the way to the highest court in the land. What...

(09-22) 18:19 PDT SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Ralph Nader will not appear on Oregon's general election ballot, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday, overturning a lower court decision. The high court unanimously upheld a ruling by Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, who determined that flawed petitions sheets left Nader 218 signatures short of the 15,306 needed to put him on the Nov. 2 ballot. Marion County Judge Paul Lipscomb faulted Bradbury, a Democrat, for using unwritten rules to decide the validity of the petitions. The high court, however, said Bradbury acted within his authority. < snip >

CHICAGO - A federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to give independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader a spot on the Illinois ballot, saying his lawsuit against state election officials who turned him down came too late. The courts acted quickly on his suit, but it came so late that "Nader created a situation in which any remedial order would throw the state's preparations for the election into turmoil," a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said. The decision was a boon to Democrats who expect their presidential nominee, John Kerry, to win Illinois but were worried...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused his Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry on Tuesday of being responsible for a campaign to try and keep him off the Nov. 2 ballot. Seen by many Democrats as the "spoiler" in the 2000 election that elected Republican George W. Bush as president, Nader's campaign said it was fighting 21 legal cases in 17 states in a bid to get the consumer advocate on the ballot. Nader pointed the finger at Kerry and Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe for being behind what his campaign says is a program of harassment, intimidation...

The State Elections Board ruled that Ralph Nader and running mate Peter Miguel Camejo will appear on the Wisconsin ballot as a presidential ticket. The board met today in Brookfield to vote on a challenge by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The panel voted 5-4 to reject the Dems claim that the Nader campaign failed to list an elector in the 8th Congressional District. The board rejected 6-3 the claim that Nader was ineligible for Wisconsin ballot status because he is listed as an independent here and a member of recognized parties in other states, which they argued is contrary...

....Nader drew nearly 3 percent of the popular vote in 2000, when he was on the ballot in 43 states. His campaign wants to secure ballot access in at least as many states this year. Nader's effort to get his name before voters in one key battleground state, Pennsylvania, was given new life yesterday by that state's Supreme Court, which overturned a lower court ruling that had barred him from the ballot and ordered a review of his petitions. But judges in Arkansas and New Mexico ruled yesterday that Nader should not appear on their respective states' ballots. In Ohio...

A judge Monday blocked Ralph Nader from appearing on New Mexico's ballot in a legal and political tug-of-war that has kept the candidate's status in limbo for days. State District Judge Theresa Baca ruled that Nader does not qualify as an independent candidate in New Mexico because he is running as the nominee for minor parties in other states. "He is not without party affiliation," Baca said. The judge did not rule on another point of contention in the lawsuit filed by state Democrats — whether Nader's nominating petitions had enough valid signatures of registered voters. Nader campaign officials said...

The state's highest court says Ralph Nader should be on the presidential ballot in Maryland after all. The Court of Appeals ruled Monday afternoon that the state should accept 542 previously rejected signatures that were gathered by Ralph Nader supporters to create a new Populist Party. The decision reverses a state judge's ruling and would force elections officials to place Nader on the November 2nd ballot in Maryland. The case turned on a state law specifying that each petition include a county name and that only signatures of voters registered in that county could be counted. The Nader campaign was...

LITTLE ROCK — A judge on Monday ordered presidential candidate Ralph Nader stricken from the Nov. 2 ballot, ruling that Nader backers failed to properly disclose his party affiliation while collecting signatures. Nader's supporters should have disclosed that Nader would run for the Populist Party. No specific party was listed as canvassers collected 1,286 signatures. State law requires it, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox ruled. Nader's campaign said it would appeal to the state Supreme Court. "We'll continue to fight in Arkansas. We think this is a mistaken decision and we'll appeal it to ensure that voters of...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _Sept. 20, 2004 — Pennsylvania's highest court overturned a lower court ruling today that barred Ralph Nader from running for president in the state as an independent candidate. The state Supreme Court ordered the Commonwealth Court to immediately commence a review of Nader's nominating petition. The lower court had said Nader couldn't run as in independent because he had accepted the nomination of the national Reform Party as its candidate in some other states. Lawyers for a group of voters sympathetic to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry challenged Nader's candidacy. They also claimed that more than 30-thousaqnd...

Pennsylvania's highest court overturned a lower court ruling barring Ralph Nader from running for president in the state as an independent candidate, ordering the other court to immediately commence a review of Nader's nominating petition. In a one-page ruling, the state Supreme Court overruled the Commonwealth Court, which said Nader could not run as in independent because he had accepted the nomination of the national Reform Party as its candidate in some other states.

Judge Wendy York has recused herself and rescinded her order to keep Nader off the NM ballot, just reported on KKOB AM radio by Larry Aherns. A day after the order was published, she was found to have donated to Kerry's campaign. State democrats are "saddened".

A Republican state senator from Roswell and several people from other political parties on Saturday called for state District Court Judge Wendy York to resign. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's federal disclosure records show a $1,000 campaign contribution earlier this year from Wendy E. York of Albuquerque. Meanwhile, the judge ruled Friday that Ralph Nader cannot run in New Mexico as an independent presidential candidate, knocking him off the state's Nov. 2 ballot. State judges may contribute to a political organization, according to New Mexico's Code of Judicial Conduct. But York should have recused herself from the Nader case, state...

THE REFORM PARTY TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 17 - The Florida Supreme Court bolstered President Bush's prospects in this swing state on Friday, ruling that Ralph Nader could appear on the November ballot as the Reform Party's presidential candidate. In a case, and a setting, that instantly evoked memories of the recount battle of 2000, the court rejected Democratic arguments that the Reform Party had not met state requirements for receiving a ballot line. The court's majority concluded that those requirements were vague, but that it would be unfair to punish the Reform Party for the law's weaknesses. "Any doubt as...

- The Florida Supreme Court on Friday derailed the Democratic Party's attempt to cancel the candidacy of Ralph Nader, opening the door for the consumer activist to again become the spoiler in a tight presidential race in Florida. In a 6-1 decision, the court restored Nader's name to the Nov. 2 ballot on the Reform Party ticket, overturned a lower court decision that left thousands of absentee ballots in limbo and concluded that state law is so vague it isn't possible to tell if Nader abused the ballot-access law or not. A Democratic Party spokesman said there would be no...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled 6-1 Friday that Ralph Nader (news - web sites) can be on the state's November ballot as the Reform Party presidential candidate. The court's ruling met a Saturday deadline for mailing 25,000 ballots to overseas voters, most of them military personnel. As the Green Party candidate in 2000, Nader attracted 97,000 Florida votes. Most Democrats and many Republicans agree that those votes cost Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites) the presidency. President Bush (news - web sites) won the state by 537 votes after three weeks of...

Jim Angle just announced on Brit Hume that FL Supreme Court has just issued a ruling allowing Nader on the state ballot this November

TALLAHASSEE - As they did in the presidential election four years ago, Florida courts are likely to have a role in the outcome of this fall's contest. Unlike 2000, when the legal action erupted after ballots were counted, this time courtrooms are filling long before voters head for the polls. Today, legal heavyweights with lengthy partisan pedigrees converge on the state Supreme Court in a fight over Ralph Nader's ballot status. The issue is ``preserving ballot integrity,'' says The Ballot Project, which wants Nader erased. That step could ``muzzle the voice of independent voters,'' counters the Reform Party of Florida....

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., urged the Florida Supreme Court to allow Ralph Nader on the state ballot after it hears an appeal Friday by the independent presidential candidate. A state judge rejected Nader's efforts to be on the ballot as the candidate of the Reform Party, which the judge said is no longer a legitimate national party under state law. The state supreme court said it will issue a ruling shortly after hearing the appeal. "I believe it would be a mistake to let a set of inequitable ballot rules keep a legitimate presidential candidate off the ballot,"...

Fla. justices to settle Nader dispute The state Supreme Court orders elections supervisors not to mail out absentee ballots until it rules whether Ralph Nader can appear on them as a presidential candidate. BY MARY ELLEN KLAS meklas@herald.com TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Supreme Court snatched the ball Wednesday from the partisan players fighting over Ralph Nader's status on Florida's presidential ballot, ordering elections officials not to send out absentee ballots until the justices rule on the case. The ruling put an end to an extraordinary day of head-spinning decisions: Circuit Judge Kevin Davey stripped Nader from the ballot for the...

Effort to bounce Nader from Washington ballot fails 09/16/2004 Associated Press Ralph Nader remains on the November presidential ballot in Washington state despite an effort to block him. A Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that the secretary of state's office correctly followed state law when officials put Nader on the ballot two weeks ago. The state Democratic party and an Olympia court attorney had sued in Thurston County Superior Court to block Nader from the general election ballot. Many people believe Nader cost Al Gore the presidential election in 2000 by siphoning off progressive votes in swing states, and some...

Nader's Back On Fla. Ballot TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Sept. 16, 2004 Ralph Nader can stay on Florida's ballot, at least until the end of the week when the state Supreme Court will make a final decision on his attempt to run for president as the Reform Party nominee. The high court's decision Wednesday came about an hour after Circuit Judge P. Kevin Davey ordered that Nader be removed from the November ballot because the Reform Party isn't a legitimate party under state law. The state Supreme Court will hear arguments on the issue Friday, and said it would settle the controversy...

TALLAHASSEE - For the second time in two weeks, a Tallahassee judge stripped Reform Party candidate Ralph Nader from Florida's presidential ballot today, sending a biting reprimand to Secretary of State Glenda Hood and eliciting an immediate appeal from her office.

Democrats and a special interest group are suing to keep Ralph Nader off Colorado's presidential ballot. The state Democratic Party and the Ballot Project, a group fighting Nader across the country, filed complaints in Denver District Court on Monday. That makes Colorado the 19th state to see Nader's ballot status thrown to the courts, according to his campaign. The Colorado complaints allege Nader isn't a member of the Reform Party, which nominated him for president, and that the party violated several state laws in placing him on the ballot. A judge is scheduled to hear the case today. "We make...