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Friends,
You received an email yesterday about
Gov. Johnson's fight to be on the ballot in all 50 states -- and the
Republicans' efforts to keep him OFF the ballots in key states. As you
can see from the article below, the fight continues today. We're winning, but the Republican lawyers are not giving up. If you haven't already, go to www.garyjohnson2012.com and help us keep fighting.
Thanks,
Ryan Shattuck
Libertarian Gary Johnson Wins First Ballot Fight; GOP to Appeal
September 14, 2012
Written by Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor
A Pa. Court ruled that Libertarian
presidential nominee Gary Johnson has enough petition signatures to
appear on the ballot in Pennsylvania, but Republicans are expected to
appeal the decision by the end of the day Friday.
Commonwealth Court judges sided with Johnson by a margin of 2-1 on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
They ruled that about 9,000 of the candidate’s petition signatures are
valid despite the fact that voters’ home addresses from the petitions
did not match the addresses listed in the voting file.
Two people with knowledge of the petition
challenge – which has been coordinated with the Pa. Republican Party –
said an appeal was in the process of being filed Friday afternoon. Both
said the move is typical in such disputes; state law gives litigants a
presumptive right to appeal any Commonwealth Court decision.
Johnson served as Governor of New Mexico
from 1995 to 2003, and briefly sought the Republican nomination for
President this year. A fiscal conservative, he supports the
decriminalization of marijuana. He is scheduled to attend a rally at
West Chester University in suburban Philadelphia on Monday, kicking off a
national tour of college campuses.
Pennsylvania’s ballot access rules for
3rd party and independent candidates are among the strictest in the
nation. Johnson needed 20,601 signatures for his name to appear on the
ballot (his campaign turned in 49,000). Democrat Barack Obama and
Republican Mitt Romney needed only 2,000 each.
Johnson is on the ballot in 47 states; challenges are pending in Pa. as well as Michigan and Oklahoma.
Johnson’s candidacy has worried some
Republicans who fear that the fiscal conservative could siphon votes
away from Romney. It could potentially cost Romney the Presidency in the
case of a narrow election – particularly given the warm reception
Johnson has received from disaffected supporters of former candidate Ron Paul.
A similar scenario played out in Florida
in 2000, when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader received about 20,000
votes. Democrat Al Gore went on to lose to George W. Bush by about 500
votes.
Speaking of the Green Party, its nominee,
Dr. Jill Stein of New York, will also appear on Pennsylvania’s ballot.
Her campaign said that her petition signatures were not challenged.
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