The campaign has been following the ballot issue in Texas concerning Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. As you know, Ballot Access News reported that neither the Democratic or Republican parties filed paperwork on time to meet the necessary statutory requirements which are clear set forth in Texas election law.
If a Libertarian Party candidate had filed, even a few minutes late, it is very likely that a challenge would be filed and that candidate would be removed from the ballot. We know that Libertarian Party candidates aren’t safe even when we have followed the letter of the law. The actions of the McCain campaign in Pennsylvania is a perfect example of that.
Here is a statement on the situation in Texas issued by the campaign early this morning.
The Bob Barr presidential campaign has stated “serious legal consequences” will occur should Senators Barack Obama and John McCain be allowed on the Texas general election ballot after they knowingly missed the state’s deadline to file.
According to documents obtained by the Barr campaign, neither John McCain nor Barack Obama complied with Texas Election Code § 192.031, which requires that filings must be submitted “before 5 p.m. of the 70th day before presidential Election Day,” listing the “names of the party’s nominees for president and vice-president.”
“The Election Code of the State of Texas imposes requirements on a political party, which must be met if its candidates for president and vice-presidents are to appear on the general election ballot,” Russell Verney, Bob Barr’s campaign manager stated in a letter sent to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. “The Democratic Party and Mr. Obama, and the Republican Party and Mr. McCain, blatantly ignored the Texas statutory deadline.”
The deadline, which was set at 5 p.m. on August 26, passed before Sen. Obama was nominated and before Sen. McCain had even selected his running mate.
“The law is clear, and it was clearly not followed,” says Verney. “The Texas Supreme Court was emphatic when it stated that the law ‘does not allow political parties or candidates to ignore statutory deadlines . . .’ Senators Obama and McCain did not file by the deadline; therefore, Texas should abide by the laws it created. No political party or candidate is above the law.”
You can read campaign filings from Obama and McCain here and a letter from Russ Verney to the Texas Secretary of State here.
