Libertarian candidates for US Congress removed from November ballot in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three Libertarian candidates in Iowa running for the U.S. House will not be listed on ballots this November after a panel ruled they failed to comply with state law, a decision that could affect the outcome of at least one tightly contested race.

The state’s objection committee, composed of one Democratic and two Republican elected officials, ruled 2-1 Wednesday in favor of Iowans who challenged the candidates’ legitimacy.

The challengers, most of whom are affiliated with the Republican Party in their counties, were represented by conservative attorney Alan Ostergren. At the hearing, Ostergren said the Libertarian candidates were not nominated at valid county conventions and the party failed to provide county officials with required documentation.

The chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, Jules Cutler, told reporters after the hearing that Democrats and Republicans have both “done everything to keep us off the ballot.”

But the Democrat on the panel who opposed the candidates’ removal, State Auditor Rob Sand, accused his colleagues of political bias, saying in a statement that the decision was “a wrong-headed plot by Iowa’s uniparty to limit voters’ choices.”

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