Iowa judge rules against Libertarian candidates, keeping their names off the ballot for Congress

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Libertarian candidates seeking U.S. House seats in Iowa will not appear on the ballot this November following a judge’s ruling Saturday, upholding a state election panel’s decision.

The ruling came in an appeal by the candidates after the State Objection Panel, composed of one Democratic and two Republican elected officials, ruled 2-1 that the Libertarian candidates should be removed from the ballot on a technicality.

The panel agreed with several Republican Party officials who argued that the Libertarian Party failed to follow state law when it nominated the candidates at its party convention, which was held on the same day as precinct caucuses where the candidates were selected. State law says the term of convention delegates begins the day after the caucuses.

That means the Libertarian candidates were not nominated at valid county conventions, conservative attorney Alan Ostergren argued.

Polk County District Judge Michael Huppert agreed and rejected the candidates’ arguments that the state panel had no authority to strike them from the ballot. He found that the state law is “mandatory in nature and requires strict compliance.”

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