-Kevin Knedler, LPO Chair

Today, October 18, 2011, United States District Court Judge Algenon Marbley issued an order which clarifies and confirms that the Libertarian Party will be on the November 2011 and November 2012 ballot in Ohio. The order was given after a status conference on October 17, as a result of the Ohio legislature’s desire to appeal the Federal Court’s ruling (in favor of LPO) on September 7.  To clarify, the Ohio Secretary of State did not wish to appeal the September 7 decision by the Federal Court.  Representing the LPO at the October 17 status conference were attorney Mark Brown and LPO Executive Committee State Chairman, Kevin Knedler.

The decision was focused on the party label being on the ballot. Now it is up to the LP candidates to begin their petitioning efforts and have the signatures turned into the Board of elections by December 7, 2011. This is the deadline for all political party candidates.  Details are in the Ohio Revised Code section 3513, 3513.05, and 3513.10.

There is an exception in the Ohio Revised code as to the number of signatures needed by minor party candidates, who want to file and run for office. The ORC states that a minor party will need ½ of the signatures that are required for a major party.  The signatures needed are as follows:  25 valid signatures for county office, State Representative, State Senate, and US Congress; and 500 signatures for US Senate.

Petition circulators can be the candidate or a registered Libertarian from Ohio. Those that sign the petitions can be a registered Libertarian from Ohio or a non-affiliated (independent) voter. Please make sure you use the correct petition form, which varies between the various offices. For instance, the Ohio Assembly offices would require petition form “2 F”, US Congress requires form “2 E”, US Senate requires form “2 C”, and that of a county office requires form “2 G”.

Regarding support from the Libertarian Party of Ohio, we are presently working to build-up the team. If you have questions or want to help, please email us at candidates@lpo.org or call 614-859-0320. This team will also be working on the vetting and endorsement procedures for the 2012 candidates.  I encourage you to learn more about the Libertarian Party of Ohio by going to www.LPO.org .

Remember December 7 is the deadline to file your petitions for office !

READ THE COURT ORDER HERE