Ballot Access For Libertarian Party Uncertain In Swing State Ohio

[Purveyor]

COLUMBUS, Ohio — While Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is set to appear on ballots in at least 39 states, swing state Ohio is among the places where his supporters are still working to get his name out to voters this fall.

The ballot status of the former New Mexico governor in Ohio was uncertain Wednesday — a day after Libertarians submitted thousands of signatures on behalf of a different candidate. Party activists say the candidate on the paperwork, Charlie Earl, who ran for Ohio governor in 2014, is just a stand-in who will be replaced with Johnson and his running mate once the petitions are certified by the state’s elections chief.

“That was the only way we could do it,” said Aaron Keith Harris, a spokesman for the Libertarian Party of Ohio. Libertarians also used a placeholder name in Pennsylvania, another battleground state.

Libertarians are not recognized as a political party in Ohio, so activists sought to collect at least 5,000 valid signatures from voters by Wednesday’s deadline to get Johnson on the fall ballot by way of a process for independent candidates. Elections officials must now verify the signors.

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http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/libertarians-ballot-access-uncertain-battleground-ohio/

[onehandle]

1. Where do I sent the check? Because Looneytarian votes only deduct from the GOP. nt