Sharpton, Lieberman off state presidential primary ballot (LA)

[Robb]

Sharpton, Lieberman off state presidential primary ballot

BATON ROUGE (AP) -- Louisiana's primary ballot went to the printer Wednesday with the only black contender among major presidential candidates noticeably absent while a lawsuit on the matter awaits a court hearing.

Lawyers for the Rev. Al Sharpton are scheduled to go to court Feb. 19 in the hopes they can persuade a judge to include Sharpton in the March 9 election, despite a series of problems with his attempts to sign up for the primary.

Sharpton is the only major Democratic presidential candidate missing from Louisiana's ballot. Even one candidate who dropped out of the race is included -- retired Gen. Wesley Clark ended his presidential bid too late to be taken off Louisiana's ballot, according to elections officials.

Clark can determine if he wants his votes to be counted, but voters in the March election still will see his name.

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