The Daily Oklahoman

July 31, 1984

Judge Orders Libertarian Party Candidates Put on State Ballot
Author: Judy Fossett

U.S. District Judge Lee West ordered the Libertarian Party put on the Oklahoma ballot Monday in a ruling which lashed out at the handling of the case by the
state Attorney General's office as "inexcusable conduct."

The judge gave attorneys for Libertarians and the state 10 days to agree on a method for putting Libertarian candidates on the November general election
ballot. West told the parties if they can't agree on a plan, he will choose one.

Judge West said Oklahoma's ballot access law, with requirements "more severe" than in any other state, violates the Libertarian Party's First Amendment right
of political association and the related rights to vote and reasonable ballot access as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The ruling applies only to the Libertarians' lawsuit for 1984 ballot access, but could open the state's ballot access law to further constitutional challenge.

Told of the judge's ruling early Monday night, Oklahoma Libertarian Party Chairman Gordon Mobley of Moore said, "Excellent! It looks like Oklahomans
will have two choices in November - Libertarian and Demopublican."

Mobley said Libertarians are planning a state convention in Oklahoma City on Aug. 18 to chose a slate of candidates. He said 15 Libertarians already have
indicated they will make races.

Judge West's ruling wasn't a surprise, Mobley said. "We expected the judge to be fair and honest."

The 12-page ruling is a much longer re-statement of a July 13 order filed when West automatically granted the Libertarians a summary judgment after the
attorney general's office failed to respond within a 15 day time limit.

Assistant Attorney General Jim Franks asked Judge West to reconsider and explained he thought he had 20 days to respond.

West responded in his order Monday that it is the duty of all lawyers to be familiar with court rules.

"It is evident in this and other cases that the state expects to be allowed to file its responses at its own leisure without regard for either the rules or
the consequences to other parties involved," West wrote.

"This lax attitude which assumes the Court's complicity cannot be tolerated when it results in undue prejudice to the opposing parties."

"The Court will not tolerate this inexcusable conduct by any party, not even the State."

In a footnote, West wrote he had "found it necessary recently" to send representatives to Attorney General Mike Turpen to urge that his office respond
in a timely fashion to petitions for habeas corpus.

"This unorthodox action was necessary due to the repeated failure of the AG's office to respond to these petitions," the judge wrote.

The judge didn't identify the petitions, but they are apparently some of the hundreds filed each year by prisoners requesting federal court review of their
convictions. Turpen's office represents the state in those cases.

West also said both Franks and Libertarian attorneys had agreed in early June it was critical to Libertarians and the state Election Board that the issue be
decided quickly.

He said the Libertarians have lost days for registering voters, campaigning and fund raising of "unwarranted delays" caused by the attorney general's office.

Oklahoma's ballot access law requires a group wanting to form a new party to obtain signatures equal to at least 5 percent of the total vote cast in the
last general election. The group has 90 days to collect those signatures. If it succeeds and gets a spot on the ballot, the new party must receive at least
10 percent of the total votes cast to remain a valid party.

West noted that only eight states have ballot access requirements of 2 percent or more. Aside from Oklahoma, only three other states have a requirement for
ballot access of 5 percent of the vote in a previous election, and each of those states allows at least one year to gather the necessary signatures.

Oklahoma's ballot access law was enacted in 1974. Prior to that time, the statutes required only 5,000 signatures on petitions for the formation of a new
political party. Libertarians petitioned between March 1 and May 29 and obtained 28,894 of the 44,157 signatures required.

In their lawsuit, the Libertarians complained they had been hampered by inclement weather and harrassed by law enforcement officials. They also complained
they had been denied access to shopping malls, campuses and other public areas where they might have obtained signatures.

West found that the state may use its power to impose some restrictions on candidate eligibility in order to ensure that elections are fair, honest and orderly.

However, "the rights of voters and the rights of candidates cannot be easily separated; therefore ballot access restrictions do impact voters."

The First and 14th Amendments are basic constitutional rights of individuals to associate for the advancement of political beliefs and cast their votes
effectively, the judge wrote.

The unconstitutionality of Oklahoma's statutes "is particularly evident" when the short time allowed for petitioning is combined with the large number of
signatures required, the prevention of effective solicitation of signatures and unusually inclement weather, the ruling states.