Libertarian Party statement on ballot access in Ohio

Libertarian Party of Ohio

Media Statement: Ballot Access July 02, 2018, 14:00 EDT

For further information, contact:

Harold Thomas, LPO Chair [email protected] (614) 581-6832

David Jackson, Communication Director [email protected]
(614) 560-1237

July 2, The Libertarian Party of Ohio filed petitions containing 102,762 signatures with the Secretary of State to regain ballot access taken away from the citizens of Ohio four years ago because of Republican Party politics

They intended to destroy the Libertarian Party in Ohio.

But liberty and choice persevered. We have more volunteers and more enthusiasm than ever. Putting us through the political tricks has made us stronger.

We are stronger knowing that 102,762 voters are signed their names to give Ohio more and better choices to address our economic and social issues. Ohioans want solutions, and sense that the way forward might lie in less government, instead of more. These petitions came from all 88 counties showing support from every part of this state. We are building from a broad base of voters from every economic level; all racial backgrounds; all faiths, and all sexual orientations, helping the ever-expanding diversity of our party.

We know that establishment trickery will not end here. We have attorneys armed with the Constitutions of the United States and the State of Ohio. We know of some recent federal court decisions in other states that have made challenger party ballot access easier, not more difficult. Our attorneys are ready to deal with any obstacles they throw our way. However, we seek no fight, just open dialog and new ideas.

The establishment parties will try to convince you that we are “Republicans-lite” or agroup of spoilers whose primary purpose is to throw elections one way or the other. Some will even try to make you believe that we are anarchists bent on social chaos. Don’t believe them. The Libertarian Party has members all around you and is the only party with a consistent philosophy and platform — one we have followed, faithfully, since our inception nearly 50 years ago. Our philosophy is based on this Golden Rule, which call it the “non-aggression principle.” No one, including government, has theright to use force to promote a political or social agenda. Government aggression should only be used to protect our lives, our property, and our rights from those who would kill, rob, and cheat us.

Libertarians believe that government exists for one purpose, which Thomas Jefferson made clear in the Declaration of Independence. We are endowed with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the purpose of government is to secure these rights. The framers of the Constitution reinforced the Declaration when they wrote in the Preamble that government’s purpose is to “establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

It is a government for adults who can make their own decisions, build their own careers, and have values they want to pass on to their children. Our political system is broken because we have forgotten that. We have allowed our politicians – at all levels –to behave like children, focusing on trivial issues, fighting the cultural wars of past generations, and doling out favors to their largest contributors.

It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to stop bickering and to start negotiating real solutions for Ohio. It’s time to engage in the politics of hope instead of the politics of fear. In this spirit, we will cooperate with members of the establishment parties and the Green Party on issues of mutual interest. Together, we can form policies designed to benefit all of us.

On Saturday, July 14, we will introduce our slate of candidates to you and the people of Ohio. You will find that they represent a new generation of leadership with fresh ideas and a new perspective on governing our state.

I invite you and all Ohioans to embrace the Libertarian Party and its candidates as we represent a true choice. We will not only show how to fix a broken system, and make it robust enough to secure the blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

-END-