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Will Obama & McCain be on Texas ballots?

Posted 19 Sep 2008 in 2008 election

My friend Tirya sent me a link to a developing news story.

Libertarian Bob Barr moves to keep Obama, McCain off Texas ballot
Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr is forcing a legal showdown in the Texas Supreme Court to keep the names of Barack Obama and John McCain off the November ballot.

The issue is whether both parties missed a state deadline to certify the names of their presidential and vice presidential candidates for the ballot.
[...]
The Libertarians are contending that the Democratic and Republican nominees are disqualified from appearing on the ballot because they missed the state’s Aug. 26 deadline to certify candidates. During the national conventions, Mr. Obama was not voted as the nominee until Aug. 27 and Mr. McCain claimed the GOP nomination on Sept. 3.

No one can legally certify something that has not yet happened, Mr. Barr argued. In addition, Sarah Palin was not named to the GOP ticket until Aug. 29 and so it would be impossible to certify her name by the deadline.

Regardless of what one thinks about Bob Barr, he has a point. Texas election code clearly states:

SUBCHAPTER B. PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

§ 192.031. PARTY CANDIDATE’S ENTITLEMENT TO PLACE ON BALLOT. A political party is entitled to have the names of its nominees for president and vice-president of the United States placed on the ballot in a presidential general election if:

  1. the nominees possess the qualifications for those offices prescribed by federal law;

  2. before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential election day, the party’s state chair signs and delivers to the secretary of state a written certification of:
    (A) the names of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president; and
    (B) the names and residence addresses of presidential elector candidates nominated by the party, in a number equal to the number of presidential electors that federal law allocates to this state; and

  3. the party is:
    (A) required or authorized by Subchapter A of Chapter 172 to make its nominations by primary election; or
    (B) entitled to have the names of its nominees placed on the general election ballot under Chapter 181.

Appropriately for Talk Like A Pirate Day, Tirya’s opinion echoes Pirates of the Carribean‘s Captain Barbossa:

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. Not that I expect McCain or Obama to be taken off the ballot, but it ought to really shake some people up. Not to mention open some interesting discussion about “when are rules actually ‘rules’ and when are they more like ‘guidelines’?”

Posted by FullMetalPatriot
12th gen. American, Constitutionalist, Harley-riding Texan, gun owner & NRA member, blogger, illustrator, Florida Gator alumnus. #TCOT

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