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Secretary of State Denies Libertarians Ballot Access
The Secretary of State’s Office denied several Libertarian candidates spots on the ballot because the United States Postal Service failed to deliver their consent forms by last Friday’s 5 PM deadline.
Most of the candidates filed consent forms and had them post marked by Thursday September 14. According to postal employees next day delivery is the standard in Vermont. Unlike private carriers such as Fed-Ex, the USPS won’t guarantee next-day delivery service even for priority mail which at least one of candidate used.
Five of the original seven candidates the VTLP chose to focus on will remain on the ballot. David Atkinson and Hardy Machia will appear on the ballot as Libertarian/Republicans because they were able to drive the 1-2 hours to hand delivery their consent forms. Andrew Thomas had his consent form hand delivered so he will appear on the ballot as a Libertarian. Jeff Manney, Ben Todd, and Bob Wolffe will appear on the ballot as Republicans.
The VTLP decided not to pursue legal action to have Manney, Todd, and Wolffe listed as Lib/Rep, and instead decided to focus on getting our candidates elected. If any lawyers wish to file the necessary motions to have the courts force the Secretary of State to follow the law (Title 17: Elections, 17 V.S.A. ? 2474. Choice of party) our candidates would appreciate your help.
Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races
Vermont Libertarian Party
https://lpvt.org
Hardy Machia
[email protected]
802-238-3437
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2006
Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races
(Montpelier, VT)? The Vermont Libertarian Party nominated candidates for fifteen races spanning nine counties this November.
The candidates consenting to the Libertarian nomination are
Ben Todd of Barton, State Representative, Orleans-Calendonia-1
David Atkinson of Braintree, State Representative, Orange-Addison-1
Hardy Machia of Grand Isle, State Representative, Grand Isle-Chittenden-1-1
Don O’Donnell of Marshfield, State Representative, Washington-6
Bob Wolffe of Randolph, State Representative, Orange-Addison-1
Jeff Manney of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-1
Thomas Carpenter Jr. of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-3
Kevin Volz of Rutland, State Representative, Rutland-5-4
Andrew Thomas of South Burlington, State Representative, Chittenden-3-8
Kelly Todd of Barton, State Senator, Essex-Orleans
Milton C. DeGeorge Jr. of Island Pond, Probate Judge, Essex County
Milton C. DeGeorge Jr. of Island Pond, High Bailiff, Essex County
Dwight Duke of Marshfield, Sheriff, Washington County?
Don O’Donnell of Marshfield, Assistant Judge, Washington County
Cindy Myrick of Bridport, Assistant Judge, Addison County
Candidate photographs and links to candidates’ websites are available here: https://vtliberty.org/main/campaigns.asp
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Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races
Vermont Libertarian Party Nominates Candidates for 15 Races. The Vermont Libertarian Party nominated candidates for fifteen races spanning nine counties this November. The candidates consenting to the Libertarian nomination are…
Vermont Libertarians Batting .750 in Contested Primaries
The National LP issued the following press release…
Vermont Libertarians Batting .750 in Contested Primary Races
Libertarian Fusion Candidates Win Three State Representative Primaries in Green Mountain State
(Washington, D.C.) Benjamin Todd and Jeff Manney are running for Vermont State Representative seats on a Libertarian-Republican fusion ticket. As their races were uncontested, they easily won Tuesday’s Republican primary elections for their districts. Vermont’s other four LP fusion state representative candidates had to fight a bit harder, but still pulled off an impressive win/loss ratio.
Vermont Libertarian Party Chair Hardy Machia was responsible for recruiting most of the candidates and orchestrating the state representative campaigns. He stated that he is “very pleased with the showing of our candidates in the major parties’ primaries.”
Two of the winners were Bob Wolffe and David Atkinson in the Orange-Addison-1 district. According to the latest election returns, Atkinson won his race by one vote. Machia wasn’t merely coordinating campaigns; he was running in the Grand Isle-Chittenden-1-1 race himself – a race which he won.
“Running a fusion campaign as a Libertarian-Republican makes it easy to talk to Democratic and Independent voters who are very frustrated with the Republicans in DC, because I can empathize with them against the war in Iraq, against out-of-control spending, and against infringements on our civil liberties,” Machia said. “The voters I talked to want to see change. They want the property taxes problem fixed.”
The Wolffe and Atkinson campaigns were assisted with GOTV calls from the national Libertarian Party’s Ballot Base. Machia felt confident enough about his potential to win his own race that he insisted the other candidates receive the priority for GOTV telephone calls.
The single defeat these Libertarian candidates took isn’t a complete loss. While Kevin Volz lost the Democratic primary in Rutland-5-4, he will still be on the ballot as a Libertarian in the November General Election.
In addition to their fusion candidates, the Vermont Libertarian Party will be running three more candidates for state representative positions on the Libertarian Party ticket: Thomas Carpenter, Jr. in Rutland-5-3, Andrew Thomas in Chittenden-3-8, and Don O’Donnell in Washington-6.
Recent polling has shown Libertarian candidates performing at higher than normal levels in multiple states and races around the country. In Vermont, the combination of voter discontent, an effective state strategy and the Libertarian Party’s Ballot Base program was the deciding factor in this set of Libertarian victories.
“The incumbents have been ineffective and are not addressing voters’ concerns,” Machia said. “A lot of people are ready for change. It’s time to take the momentum from this win into the general election.”
