Libertarian Party of New Hampshire prepares to sue state of New Hampshire for ballot access relief

***For Immediate Release***

Concord, N.H., May 10, 2020 – The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire is preparing to sue the state of New Hampshire for ballot access relief in the wake of COVID-19.

The Party previously sent a request to Secretary of State Bill Gardner that the requirement to gather over 3,000 petitions be waived. Our request was then passed on to legal counsel at the Governor’s office, but all told, more than a month has passed with no genuine effort to ensure citizens do not need to make the choice between public safety and their constitutionally guaranteed right to run for office. The Libertarian Party has already achieved favorable rulings, particularly in Illinois, where a federal court ruled that petitioning requirements should be waived.

LPNH Secretary Jilletta Jarvis made every effort to resolve this without tying up State and Party resources in court, but “after multiple calls, a formal written request, and several more calls, I am at the point where I begin to believe that the Governor’s Office likes to talk about being here for the people of NH, but maybe they only mean a select group of those people. If you are Independent, Libertarian, Green, Constitutionalist, maybe you just count a little bit less to them.”

“When the SOS & AG issued guidance to expand Absentee Voting, the release said ‘voters shouldn’t have to choose between health & right to vote,’” points out Libertarian candidate for Governor Darryl Perry. “However, unless petitioning requirements are suspended, our state officials are requiring minor party and independent candidates to choose between health & their constitutional right to be a candidate.”

Libertarian Senate candidate Justin O’Donnell welcomes the move, saying “it is imperative that the State does not force candidates and voters to choose between exercising their constitutional rights and acting in the interests of personal health and public safety.”

The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire is New Hampshire’s third largest political party. For more general info, please visit LPNH.org or email [email protected].

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Contact:

Richard Manzo, Communications Director
(603) 289-5929
[email protected]