Greetings,

I run a fairly popular blog from Columbus Ohio and Bill Peirce was kind enough to grant me a 30 minute interview last month (you can listen to the interview and read the transcript here). As a writer and an online marketer of information, I understand that controversy and drama are what draw and keep the attention of others. I promise you that if you give Bill equal time with the two major party candidates, he will create a firestorm of drama that will leave the other two stuttering. He will not be flashy and overbearing but he will argue logically and passionately using ideas that are right and strong and when compared to the party lines of the other two, will leave your viewers with a refreshing alternative to the humdrum political nonsense we've seen in American politics for the past twenty years.

In the late 1850s, there was a minor party just beginning to make headway in America. The recent "Great Compromise" following the Mexican-American War forced Northern abolitionists to not only accept further slavery as a lawful disgrace, but bid them to lawfully return any escaped slave to its owner, an outrage that pushed the reformers of the newly formed Republican Party into the limelight of American politics and hence set the course of America's future. Ohio was a major, perhaps the major, state which influenced the 1860 election and brought Abraham Lincoln to the forefront of American politics and the rest is history.

But it never would have happened had President Lincoln not been given a forum from which to speak to the people and the Ohio media was a major lynch pin in the future of American politics. It can be once again if you act from integrity and fairness instead of bowing down to corporate shills and political hack barricades that have been instituted to keep the wealthy and powerful exactly that at the expense of the liberty of the individual American citizen, particularly the one residing in Ohio.

I'm not asking you to endorse the man or his passing ability; I'm just asking you to let him on the field to prove his worth in a quarter of the game. When he starts scoring touchdowns immediately, I won't even say I told you so. But not to let him on the field is not to act with the heart of a true Buckeye.

Do the right thing. Let the man play!

Sincerely,

Joshua Minton

Editor, www.boyswearpants.com

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Libertarians Win Lawsuit with Secretary of State Ohio Election Law Ruled Unconstitutional

The US 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled today that Ohio's election laws are unconstitional, restricting the rights of voters, candidates, and political parties of reasonable access to the ballot.

"The evidence in the record shows that in Ohio, elections have indeed been monopolized by two parties...The LPO has put forth evidence that Ohio is among the most restrictive, if not the most restrictive, state in granting minor parties access to the ballot," wrote the Honorable Julia Smith Gibbons, US 6th Circuit Court Judge. "Put simply, the restrictions at issue in this case serve to prevent a minor political party from engaging in the most fundamental of political activities - recruiting supporters, selecting a candidate, placing that candidate on the general election ballot in the hopes of winning and ultimately, the right to govern."

Ohio requires new parties to nominate by primary. Since the primary in presidential years is in March, the new party petition is in November, a full year before the election. The majority court opinion said the combination of the relatively high number of signatures (1% of the last presidential vote was 56,279 signatures in 2004) plus the extremely early deadline, taken together, is unconstitutional. No minor parties appeared on the ballot in Ohio in 2002, 2004, or 2006

Under these same laws, current Libertarian candidate for Governor Bill Peirce was compelled to enter the race as an independent. "This is a step in the right direction. We want to get our name and views out there before the public, but we're still being excluding from the public debates."

"We're very pleased with the decision," said Ohio Libertarian State Chair. "We're just seeking equal treatment under the law as the two major parties. All we want is a level playing field."

According to Richard Winger, of Ballot Access News and the Coalition for Free and Open Elections, "There are three remedies the Ohio legislature and the Secretary of State may pursue: sharply reduce the number of signatures needed for minor parties, allow minor parties to nominate by convention and change the deadline for filing signatures, or allow independent candidates to declare a party label when they qualify for the ballot."

"We look forward to working with the legislature and the Secretary of State's office to bring Ohio's election laws in line with the court's decision," said party secretary Robert Butler. "There's already a bill from Rep. Jim Trakas'
office that deals with this issue."

• Read the Entire Decision Here