Free Republic

Austin, Texas ­- With one day remaining for candidates to withdraw from the race and have their names not appear on the ballot, candidate Michael Badnarik's principal campaign committee, Badnarik for Congress, has asked Democrat Ted Ankrum to withdraw from the race. "While Mr. Ankrum is definitely a nice guy, that is not enough to win over the Republican incumbent," says campaign manager and committee treasurer Allen Hacker. Hacker expects that the Democrat, who has no party or Political Action Committee support, hasn't raised even $75,000.00 and is very unlikely to break $100,000.00 in the entire campaign. A recent appeal...

Since the 2008 campaign season seems to be off to an early start, Americans should think about getting a better handle on one of the other political parties--specifically that smaller one whose candidate finished with 0.3% of the vote in the 2004 Election. I'm not talking about the Green Party, with whose tenets most Americans are by now familiar but which drew an even smaller 0.1% of the vote. I'm talking about the country's third-largest, yet still somewhat enigmatic, party, the Libertarians--which is often overshadowed by other minor parties (even the Greens, if you can imagine), and whose candidate's name...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Two third-party presidential candidates asked a federal court Thursday to force a second recount of the Ohio vote, alleging county election boards altered votes and didn't follow proper procedures in the recount that ended this week. Lawyers for Green Party candidate David Cobb and the Libertarian Party's Michael Badnarik made their request in federal court in Columbus. The two candidates, who received less than 0.3 percent of the Ohio vote, paid $113,600 for a statewide recount after the vote was certified earlier this month by the secretary of state. They have said they don't expect to...

With Ohio inching toward a final recount that trimmed a few hundred votes from President Bush's six-figure margin, elections officials said electronic voting systems worked as promised. But critics were unconvinced. With recount results reported in 86 of 88 counties Tuesday, President Bush picked up 438 votes and Sen. John Kerry gained 680, narrowing Bush's 119,000-vote lead by 242 votes, according to an Associated Press survey.

Ohio — Today, attorneys representing the Kerry-Edwards campaign filed papers in Delaware County, Ohio to intervene in legal proceedings in defense of Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, Libertarian Michael Badnarik and their legal counsel, the National Voting Rights Institute, who are seeking a recount of all votes cast for president in the Ohio 2004 general election.

With your help, we are standing up for the right to vote, and the right for votes to be counted. David Cobb of the Green Party and Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party have filed for a recount of the presidential ballots cast in Ohio, New Mexico, and Nevada, and have filed a lawsuit in Ohio to make sure there is sufficient time to recount every ballot. The initial Ohio recount filing fees and expenses were paid with the help of thousands of small donations from all over the country. We appreciate your support of the recount, and of a...

Bloggers trying to fan a recount bonfire in Ohio have discovered a new link on the Kerry campaign website seeking contributions for a "General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance (aka Recount) Fund." Unfortunately, the link is nothing new, having been in place for weeks, a discovery that somewhat deflated hopes that Mr. Kerry will suddenly change course and formally contest the election results in Ohio. His absence from any lawsuit is the big hole in the legal effort to force a recount in the state. There's no question, though, that there's a market out there for election-theft conspiracy theories, and...

A federal judge denied a request by third-party presidential candidates who want to force a "recount" of Ohio ballots even before the official count is finished. US District Judge James G. Carr in Toledo ruled that the candidates have a right under Ohio law to a recount. But Carr says they have not shown "that they will be harmed irreparably if the recount is not completed by the time Ohio's electors to the Electoral College must be certified." The judge says two third-party candidates seeking the recount can't credibly claim that they garnered enough votes to have Ohio's presidential electors...

A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request by third-party presidential candidates who wanted to force a recount of Ohio ballots even before the official count was finished. U.S. District Judge James G. Carr in Toledo ruled that the candidates have a right under Ohio law to a recount, but they have not shown "that they will be harmed irreparably if the recount is not completed by the time Ohio's electors to the Electoral College must be certified." The judge said Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Badnarik could not credibly claim that they did...

CINCINNATI -- Third-party candidates for president said they would sue in federal court Monday to force a recount of Ohio ballots before returns are certified next week - prompting one election official to say he might mobilize fellow counties to resist a recount. "Counties are very upset," said Keith Cunningham, director of the Allen County Board of Elections and incoming president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, who called the lawsuit "frivolous." "Commissioners are beginning to understand - and if they don't, will understand soon - what kind of financial impact this is going to have on them, in...

PAT LaMARCHE, 2004 GREEN V.P. CANDIDATE, TO SPEAK ON THE OHIO RECOUNT AT RALLY NEAR WHITE HOUSE Rally organized by ReDefeatBush at LaFayette Park in Washington, D.C., Friday, November 19 at noon WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pat LaMarche, the Green Party's 2004 vice presidential candidate, will speak at a rally in Washington, D.C. on November 19 about the Ohio recount effort launched by the Cobb/LaMarche and Badnarik campaigns. Ms. LaMarche will join Libertarian presidential candidate, Michael Badnarik, at a rally in front of the White House at LaFayette Park on Friday November 19 at noon. The rally has been organized by...

A statewide recount of the presidential vote appears inevitable after a pair of third-party candidates said they have collected enough money to pay for it. The recount would be conducted after the election results are certified in early December. Libertarian Michael Badnarik and the Green Party's David Cobb said on Monday they raised more than $150,000 in four days, mostly in small contributions. Ohio law requires payment of $10 per precinct for a recount, or $113,600 statewide. Badnarik and Cobb said they aren't trying to overturn President Bush's 136,000-vote victory in Ohio, but just want to ensure that all votes...

Presidential Candidates To Demand Ohio Recount Press Release David Cobb and Michael Badnarik, the 2004 Green and Libertarian presidential candidates, today announced their joint intent to secure a recount of presidential ballots cast in Ohio. "Due to widespread reports of irregularities in Ohio's voting process, we are compelled to demand a recount of the Ohio presidential vote," the two candidates said in a joint statement. "Voting is at the heart of the American political process and its integrity must be preserved. When Americans stand in line for hours to exercise their right to vote, they need to know that their...

Four more years. Love him or hate him, President Bush now has a second term in office. Voter turnout hit record highs, giving Bush and Sen. John Kerry the first- and second- highest vote totals ever in an election. Instead of pulling an Al Gore and contesting the vote in Ohio, Kerry showed an impressive amount of class by conceding the race and joining Bush in a call for unity. Although both sides cannot win in a campaign, each has plenty to be proud of. Now that 527 groups (such as MoveOn and the Swift Boat Vets) have gone silent,...

AND THE WINNER OF THE THIRD PARTY COMPETITION WAS ... The Libertarian Party. Throughout the election the media fed us information about Ralph Nader. Ralph this. Ralph that. You hardly knew that the Libertarians were in the race. The results now show that the Michael Badnarik, the Libertarian candidate, received more votes than Nader. I wonder how the Libertarians would have done if their candidate was willing to protect America from Islamic terrorists?

Badnarik launches final TV ad blitz in 4 swing states WASHINGTON -- With the Bush-Kerry race too close to call, the Badnarik for President campaign has launched a final flurry of TV advertising aimed at disgruntled Republicans in four swing states. "Millions of fiscal conservatives have been left politically homeless by the GOP, so we're rolling out the Libertarian welcome mat," said Barbara Goushaw, campaign manager for Badnarik. "If George Bush thinks these people have no place to go, he's in for a big surprise." The TV spots, titled "Send a Message," are running in Nevada, New Mexico, Wisconsin and...

From C-SPAN for the state of Texas: Bush (Incumbent) 2,127,861 63% Kerry 1,256,602 37% Badnarik 14,973 0% 11% precincts reporting - Updated 10:07 p.m. ET

Dear third-party voter, A tragedy is about to occur. I am not talking about the tragedy, the unthinkable calamity that will befall America should John Kerry be elected president of the United States. That a person with a history of actual treason should become commander in chief of America's armed forces during wartime is more bizarre and terrifying than any "Manchurian Candidate" scenario Hollywood could concoct. No, I'm referring to a different tragedy. The tragedy that idealistic, patriotic, constitutionally minded Christian Americans very possibly will be the ones that actually turn over this nation to Kerry – a man who...

There's more than one Texan on the ballot for president this year. Libertarian Michael Badnarik — the only third-party or independent presidential candidate on the Texas ballot — is from Austin. Badnarik campaigned in Houston on Saturday and will spend the rest of his time on the trail in his home state. "I'm a legitimate candidate from a legitimate party," he said at a gathering of about 25 people at a Clear Lake-area Fuddruckers. Badnarik is actually on the ballot in more states than Ralph Nader. Badnarik is on 48 ballots. Nader is on 35. Election Day could be a...

WASHINGTON -- Move over, Ralph Nader: A New York Times analysis says that Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik could be 'critical' to the outcome of the 2004 election, and that the party's 2000 candidate may have cost Bush at least four states. In the Sunday, October 24 "Political Points" column, New York Times writer John Tierney asserts that in 2000, Bush "could have won Florida easily, and possibly several other states, if the Libertarian candidate, Harry Browne, was not in the race," assuming that Browne's votes would have gone to Bush. In Florida, Browne earned 16,415 votes, while Bush defeated Al...