Posted on 08/30/2004 8:50:28 PM PDT by Libloather
Nader off ballot in Pennsylvania, Missouri
Aug. 30, 2004. 05:01 PM
Pennsylvania court tosses out independent presidential hopeful's nominating petitions
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Ralph Nader's bid to be listed as an independent candidate on Pennsylvania's presidential ballot was rejected today by a judicial panel that said he had forfeited the right by accepting the nomination of the national Reform Party.
Pennsylvania law prohibits a person who is affiliated with a political party from running as an independent.
The three-judge Commonwealth Court panel dismissed Nader's argument that the ban applied only to Pennsylvania residents.
The ruling strikes a fresh blow against Nader's campaign, which has been swamped with challenges to its nominating petitions across the country, and was cheered by supporters of Democrat John Kerry, who was seen as having the most to lose if Nader were on the Pennsylvania ballot.
Samuel Stretton, the Nader campaign's Pennsylvania attorney, said he planned to appeal to the state Supreme Court "unless they tell me not to.''
"That's a very significant decision," he said. "It would essentially be the death knell of any independent candidate" who is recognized elsewhere by a third party.
The national Reform Party endorsed Nader in May, potentially providing him ballot access in at least seven states, including the battlegrounds of Florida and Michigan. His running mate, Peter Camejo, is registered as a member of the Green Party.
Separately, officials in Missouri said today that Nader won't be on the presidential ballot there.
Secretary of State Matt Blunt had said Aug. 18 that Nader supporters had failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Nader campaign had said it was considering whether to fight the matter in court.
Friday was the deadline to appeal, and court officials said today that Nader had filed nothing in Cole County Circuit Court, the seat of state government.
Nader's status on the Pennsylvania ballot is important to both Kerry and President Bush as they compete for the state's 21 electoral votes — the fifth-largest prize in the Nov. 2 election — in what could be an extremely close race.
Democrat Al Gore carried Pennsylvania in 2000, while Bush won Missouri.
the democrats defeat democracy in MO and PA. john kerry must be very proud. this is the most shameful moment since al gore tried to disenfranchise overseas military ballots in florida.
This can't be good.
I'm thinkin' Mo & Pa both go Dubya. Any problem with that?
Why yes, his name was Anderson. And did the "sore loser" statutes keep him off a single state ballot? Why no, it didn't. So perhaps what I'm reporting right now is dead wrong in the long term. But that kind of intelligent reporting is just not possible today, I suppose.
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Damn!
I figured that if Nader were on the ticket in MO, at least 1/2 of the votes that would be coming out of Columbia for Kerry would be for Nader instead...
He would have probably picked up a few votes in KC and St Louis too...
Rats!
Mark
MO looks pretty good right now; PA is problematic.
It always strikes me how undemocratic the democrats are. I think we have a good case for false advertising. We should make them change their name to something truly representative of their underlying political philosophy....like socialist.
Actually, it sounds like the court made the right decision.
"Pennsylvania law prohibits a person who is affiliated with a political party from running as an independent."
We can't support the rule of law when it's convenient and discard it when it doesn't suit our narrow partisan purposes.
The only Nader supporter I've met here in Pennsylvania told me back in the spring that he would vote for Bush if Nader was not on the ballot. Said he couldn't stand Kerry or the Democrats.
I'm sure he is not the only independent type voter who thinks this way.
This goes to show that any poll that includes Nader is useless. The vast majority of Americans will not get a chance to vote for him, I predict.
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