Posted on 09/28/2004 1:08:24 PM PDT by AlexPKeaton04
N.M. Court Orders Nader's Name on Ballot
38 minutes ago
By BARRY MASSEY, Associated Press Writer
SANTA FE, N.M. - The New Mexico Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Ralph Nader (news - web sites)'s name to be placed on New Mexico's Nov. 2 ballot as an independent presidential candidate, turning back a Democratic challenge to his candidacy.
The court announced its decision after deliberating for about 90 minutes following oral arguments in the case earlier Tuesday.
The New Mexico Democratic Party brought a lawsuit against Nader after he was certified as a candidate by Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. Nader filed nominating petitions Sept. 7 with signatures of about 31,000 voters — more than twice the required amount — to secure a spot on the ballot.
The ruling overturns a decision last week by state District Judge Theresa Baca, who said that Nader didn't qualify as an independent candidate in New Mexico because he's running in other states as the nominee for minor parties, including the Reform Party in Florida and Colorado.
Nader is on the ballot in more than 30 states, but faces court challenges in some of those and is suing for ballot access in several others.
Democrats worry that Nader will take some support from John Kerry (news - web sites), potentially giving President Bush (news - web sites) the edge in New Mexico and other swing states considered critical by both parties in this year's election.
Bush lost the state in 2000 by 366 votes. Nader ran as the Green Party nominee four years ago and received about 4 percent of the vote in New Mexico.
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On the Web:
Nader campaign: www.voteNader.org
Secretary of State: www.sos.state.nm.us
Good. Kerry’s attempt to thwart democracy fails in another state.
Very bad news for the RATs.
This is great.in the few states where Bush does not beat Kerry sizably, Nader might make a difference.
Hey Jimmah Carter---dont you want to ewnsure Nader is not blocked from his rightful place on the ballot and/or that the DEMS don't block voters from voting for him?????
NM was also a state that the Dem's considered putting in legal play for recounts had it turned the other way just like they tried in Florida.
Great new for Bush in a swing state
Good news BUMP!!
New Mexico is a very "green" State, so Nader on the ticket is wonderful news!
This will split the dem vote in that state big time.
There are still a few old style Democrats on the Supreme Court bench who believe that principle comes before politics.
I heard that .... Im all for Nader myself (well sort of)
3 out of the 5 NM supreme court justices had recused themselves from this case, and they used some kind of substitute judges to reach a quorum. Even so, I am also very surprised at this result.
yes, but that Rats have come up with 150,000 new voters...and trying to throw out the ID check for new voters....
Look for the NM secretary of state office to claim there is not time to get the ballots with Nader's name on them out to the absentee voters - especially military voters. By stalling this long, the Democrats still win something on this.
It's good news about Nader, but the biggest concern to me is what decision the court is going to hand down on those 'first time voters' who registered by means other than in the Clerk's office. There will be massive voter fraud if the SC does away with the NM law stating that they have to show valid ID on their first vote. The RATS are howling because they say those people are going to be disenfranchised! I hope we do disenfranchise them. :-)
I assume that Madison judge who threw Nader off the ballot in Wisconsin did so because one of Nader's election resides in the old 7th district, not the new 7th district, which is a really stupid reason to keep someone off the ballot. This is a week-old article about the controversy:
Nader Will Appear On Wisconsin Ballot
Democratic Party Of Wisconsin Filed Complaint Against Independent Candidate
POSTED: 4:53 pm EDT September 21, 2004
UPDATED: 6:54 pm EDT September 21, 2004
BROOKFIELD, Wis -- The state Elections Board has decided to keep independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the Wisconsin ballot.
A split board voted Tuesday to reject two motions seeking to kick Nader (pictured, right) off the ballot.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint with the Elections Board earlier this month.
Democrats argued that Nader's petitions didn't include an elector from the 7th Congressional District, and there has to be one from every congressional district in the state.
Nader's attorneys argued that there wasn't one because the boundaries were redrawn, moving that person from the district. The board decided that wasn't enough to keep Nader off the ballot.
"(I am) very disappointed. I felt that we laid out a very strong case, and I think it was all about fairness, and it was about the board being consistent in its decision," state Democratic Party Executive Director Kim Warkentin said.
"I'm pleased that the board has ruled for more voter choice. More than 4,000 people signed a petition wanting the Nader ticket on the ballot and I'm excited that they ruled in favor," Nader campaign coordinator Bill Linville said.
Many Democrats still blame Nader's 2000 campaign as a Green Party candidate for delivering the election to President George W. Bush by siphoning votes from Al Gore.
Wisconsin becomes the 38th state with Nader's name on the ballot, but he has faced a series of challenges, often from Democrats.
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Distributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
http://www.channel3000.com/news/3749386/detail.html
I know. When I heard the lawyers for the RATS crying about ALL the disenfranchised people who wouldn't be able to vote, I thought the same thing you did. It's obvious many of the recently registered voters are illegal and that's why they don't want them to have to show their ID's. I hope the SC rules against the RATS.
My only worry now is that the mailing of absentee ballots to the NM troops overseas has been delayed enough to screw them.
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