Two GOP Actvists Sue To Keep Libertarian Ken Moellman From Kentucky Treasurer Ballot.
GOP activists sue, seeking to remove Libertarian from ballot
Written by Joseph Gerth
Two Republican activists have filed a suit in Pendleton Circuit Court, asking that Ken Moellman, a Libertarian candidate for state treasurer, be removed from the ballot.
According to the suit, about half of the 8,100 signatures Moellman collected for his nominating petition are either flawed or fictitious, leaving him with fewer than the 5,000 signatures required to run for state-wide office.
Moellman, who has filed to run against Democratic incumbent Todd Hollenbach and Republican K.C. Crosbie, said he plans to contest the suit and that he believes it is without merit.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Moellman said in an interview. “We’ve done our own spot-checking of signatures. The bulk were collected by professionals who do a good job of qualifying who is a registered or who is not.”
Moellman, a small-government Libertarian with his base in Northern Kentucky, said the suit shows that Republicans believe he harms Crosbie’s chance of winning.
“If you look at polls out there, we are trending up and she has been trending down,” he said. “Unless they can artificially limit people to two choices, they can’t win.”
The suit was brought by Fayette County Republican Party Chairman Carol Rogers and DeAnna Brangers, the Republicans’ 3rd Congressional District chairman.
D. Eric Lycan, the lawyer representing Rogers and Brangers, said that Moellman is wrong about the reason for the challenge.
“The challenge is being made because the integrity of the elction is important,” he said. “The General Assembly has set a bar to ensure that only bona fide candidates are on the ballots....The truth is that Moellman can’t win this election and can’t even get the support of 5,000 people to get on the ballot appropriately.”
Lycan said Crosbie was not involved in filing the suit “but she was informed before it was filed that the challenge was being made.”
Her campaign defended the suit, saying that it was important to make sure all candidates are properly qualified. Furthermore, the campaign said that it didn’t know whether Moellman’s presence on the ballot would help or hurt Crosbie.
Hollenbach, however, sided with Moellman, saying the Libertarian appears to have the legally required signatures.
"It appears that Ken Moellman is a favorite of the tea party and that is why my Republican opponent wants him out of the race,” the incumbent said in a statement.
The suit was filed in Pendleton County where Moellman lives.
Under state law, most independents and third-party candidates are required to obtain 5,000 signatures and addresses of registered voters before they can be placed on the ballot. Republicans and Democrats need only two signatures.
According to the suit, Moellman made petition forms available on the Internet, which people could print out, sign and return to him. The suit claims that because of that, Moellman cannot swear that people signing the petition knew what they were signing.
The suit also claims Rogers, Brangers and others helping them, cross-checked the names and addresses on the petition against a state-wide voter roll and found numerous discrepancies.
“As a result of the review of the petition, plaintiffs discovered that a remarkable percentage on Moellman’s petitions are invalid,” the suit claims.
Among other things, the suit claims that the date petitioners signed was either not recorded or was written by someone other than the person signing; addresses were missing, incomplete or don’t exist; birthdays were missing, incomplete or wrong; names were duplicated; and signatures were forged.
The suit contends that the Campbell County Clerk’s office had voter registration cards for only 95 of the 266 names with Campbell County addresses on the petition.
And in Fayette County, the county clerk was given the names of 53 alleged Fayette County voters who signed the petition and found that none of them were actually registered to vote there.
The suit asks that Moellman be removed as a candidate and that any votes for him not be counted.
Written by Joseph Gerth
Two Republican activists have filed a suit in Pendleton Circuit Court, asking that Ken Moellman, a Libertarian candidate for state treasurer, be removed from the ballot.
According to the suit, about half of the 8,100 signatures Moellman collected for his nominating petition are either flawed or fictitious, leaving him with fewer than the 5,000 signatures required to run for state-wide office.
Moellman, who has filed to run against Democratic incumbent Todd Hollenbach and Republican K.C. Crosbie, said he plans to contest the suit and that he believes it is without merit.
“I’m not too worried about it,” Moellman said in an interview. “We’ve done our own spot-checking of signatures. The bulk were collected by professionals who do a good job of qualifying who is a registered or who is not.”
Moellman, a small-government Libertarian with his base in Northern Kentucky, said the suit shows that Republicans believe he harms Crosbie’s chance of winning.
“If you look at polls out there, we are trending up and she has been trending down,” he said. “Unless they can artificially limit people to two choices, they can’t win.”
The suit was brought by Fayette County Republican Party Chairman Carol Rogers and DeAnna Brangers, the Republicans’ 3rd Congressional District chairman.
D. Eric Lycan, the lawyer representing Rogers and Brangers, said that Moellman is wrong about the reason for the challenge.
“The challenge is being made because the integrity of the elction is important,” he said. “The General Assembly has set a bar to ensure that only bona fide candidates are on the ballots....The truth is that Moellman can’t win this election and can’t even get the support of 5,000 people to get on the ballot appropriately.”
Lycan said Crosbie was not involved in filing the suit “but she was informed before it was filed that the challenge was being made.”
Her campaign defended the suit, saying that it was important to make sure all candidates are properly qualified. Furthermore, the campaign said that it didn’t know whether Moellman’s presence on the ballot would help or hurt Crosbie.
Hollenbach, however, sided with Moellman, saying the Libertarian appears to have the legally required signatures.
"It appears that Ken Moellman is a favorite of the tea party and that is why my Republican opponent wants him out of the race,” the incumbent said in a statement.
The suit was filed in Pendleton County where Moellman lives.
Under state law, most independents and third-party candidates are required to obtain 5,000 signatures and addresses of registered voters before they can be placed on the ballot. Republicans and Democrats need only two signatures.
According to the suit, Moellman made petition forms available on the Internet, which people could print out, sign and return to him. The suit claims that because of that, Moellman cannot swear that people signing the petition knew what they were signing.
The suit also claims Rogers, Brangers and others helping them, cross-checked the names and addresses on the petition against a state-wide voter roll and found numerous discrepancies.
“As a result of the review of the petition, plaintiffs discovered that a remarkable percentage on Moellman’s petitions are invalid,” the suit claims.
Among other things, the suit claims that the date petitioners signed was either not recorded or was written by someone other than the person signing; addresses were missing, incomplete or don’t exist; birthdays were missing, incomplete or wrong; names were duplicated; and signatures were forged.
The suit contends that the Campbell County Clerk’s office had voter registration cards for only 95 of the 266 names with Campbell County addresses on the petition.
And in Fayette County, the county clerk was given the names of 53 alleged Fayette County voters who signed the petition and found that none of them were actually registered to vote there.
The suit asks that Moellman be removed as a candidate and that any votes for him not be counted.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 7:47 AM
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