Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr has filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court contending that Barack Obama and John McCain should be removed from the Texas ballot because they missed the state filing deadline.
According to Barr, the Democratic and Republican parties missed the Texas filing deadline to have their respective presidential and vice presidential candidates certified. The deadline date in Texas is August 26 to certify candidates.
Senator Obama wasn't voted on as the nominee of the Democratic Party until August 27 and John McCain didn't officially claim the Republican nomination until September 3. Both of these dates were during the Democratic National Convention in Denver and the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Dallas Morning News reported this quote from Texas Libertarian Party chairman Patrick Dixon:
''The Libertarian Party like other parties and independent candidates always face a struggle to get on the ballot and are sometimes excluded from the ballot for the most minor of details. We may not like the rules, but we have to play by them.''
The lawsuit is partly based upon the 2000 Bush vs. Gore suit and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the legislature's law must prevail. The Texas Supreme Court hasn't dismissed the case and has asked all parties to respond by Monday.
The Texas Attorney General says that the law was followed and the Secretary of State has discretion regarding the ballot and its appearance.
The Democratic and Republican Parties delivered written certification of their nominations by 5 p.m. of the 70th day before election day. Barr contends that was impossible because the Democratic and Republican National Conventions occurred after the August 26 deadline. How can you legally certify something that hasn't occurred yet? is Barr's basic argument and question.
Chron.com reports what Drew Shirley had to say concerning how the Texas Supreme Court justices should rule on this case and what their responsibilities are:
''Supreme Court justices should recognize that their responsibility is to apply the law as passed by the Legislature, and the law is clear that the candidates cannot be certified on the ballot if their filings are late.'' Shirley is a local attorney representing Barr on this case and is also a Libertarian candidate for the Texas Supreme Court.
According to a 2006 Texas Supreme Court ruling, candidates and political parties can't ignore state deadlines for filing.
The petition also alleges that the Democratic Party lied under oath in their filing documents claiming that Obama was nominated hours before it actually happened.
Candidate Barr personally filed an emergency request before the Supreme Court today asking that the state not be allowed to mail overseas ballots this weekend until the case is resolved.
Texas Democratic Party chairman Boyd Richie says that this is a political stunt by Barr and the Libertarians garnered to gain attention from the media. He also found it ironic for the Libertarian Party to file a lawsuit trying to limit ballot access where they have traditionally fought in favor of having greater ballot access in the past.
