Libertarian candidate Bob Barr has filed a lawsuit to keep John McCain and Barack Obama off of the ballot in Texas.
Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr has filed suit that would keep voters from seeing the names Barack Obama and John McCain on their voting machines, saying they failed to follow the Texas law to get their names placed on the ballot. The Libertarians are claiming that both the Texas Democratic and Republican parties missed the deadline to certify their presidential nominees and report them to the Texas Secretary of State.
Texas law says that has to happen 70 days prior to the general election. The problem? Neither party held its convention in time to meet that Aug. 26 deadline. Obama and Joe Biden were nominated by roll call vote on Aug. 27, and McCain and Sarah Palin until Sept. 3.
Here is the Texas statute in question:
192.031. PARTY CANDIDATE’S ENTITLEMENT TO PLACE ON BALLOT. A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president of the United States placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if:
(1) the nominees possess the qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law;
(2) before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party’s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of:
(A) the names of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president; and
(B) the names and residence addresses of presidential elector candidates nominated by the party,
in a number equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law allocates to this
state; and(3) the party is:
(A) required or authorized by Subchapter A of Chapter 172 to make its nominations by primary election; or
(B) entitled to have the names of its nominees placed on the general election ballot under Chapter 181.
Despite this grounding, though, I have a hunch that Barr is going to lose this lawsuit.
(link via David Weigel)
