Secretary of State Jon Husted ruled Friday that signatures on nominating petitions for Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl and his running mate Sherry Clark were invalid and struck their names from the May primary ballot.
Husted also upheld a challenge to the Libertarian’s candidate for attorney general, Stephen Linnabarry, removing him from the primary ballot.
The decision means the Libertarian Party of Ohio may not have any candidates appearing on the ballot in May, although candidates for auditor and secretary of state successfully qualified as write-ins.
Asked if the decision would keep Earl and Linnabary off the November general election ballot, Husted spokesman Matt McClellan said it was “too speculative to go that far.”
“I think there’s just a number of scenarios that could play out,” McClellan said. He declined to go into what those scenarios would be, citing the potential for lawsuits challenging Husted’s decision.
Mark Brown, who defended the Libertarian candidates Tuesday, said he expects the dispute will likely result in legal challenges.
“It’s pretty clear that regardless of which way it goes, we’re going to wind up in court. If we win, they’re going to go to court. If they win, we’re going to go to court.”
Ultimately, the outcome is of interest to both the Republican and Democratic parties. Many believe Earl’s candidacy could help the Democrats’ likely gubernatorial nominee, Ed FitzGerald, by siphoning votes from Republican Gov. John Kasich. Republicans argue, though, that the Democrats could lose votes, too.
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