A federal judge has declined to issue a temporary restraining order allowing Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl to appear on the May primary ballot.
The Libertarian Party of Ohio sought the order after Secretary of State Jon Husted struck Earl’s name from the ballot on the grounds that petition signature collectors for him didn’t properly disclose that they were employed by the party..
In a 28-page ruling issued late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson dismissed Libertarian objections to Husted’s decision, saying the employer disclosure rule “places only a minimal burden on political speech” and helps the state detect fraud.
An attorney for the Libertarians said in a statement that the party would appeal the ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In his ruling, Judge Watson stated that Ohio Republicans appear to be behind the effort to disqualify Earl from the May primary ballot. His comments came just days after Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges denied under oath that the state GOP was behind a challenge to Earl’s candidate petition signatures.
Gregory A. Felsoci of Rocky River, a registered Libertarian, filed the challenge on the grounds that petition signature collectors for Earl didn’t properly disclose that they were employed by the Libertarian Party of Ohio.
Watson upheld the decision to keep Earl off the primary ballot, but he called Felsoci a “guileless dupe” who showed in testimony that he “lacks even a basic understanding” of the challenge he made.
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