Libertarian congressional candidates appeal decision kicking them off Iowa's ballot

Three Iowa Libertarian Party candidates for Congress are appealing a state panel's decision this week to remove them from the November general election ballot.

Libertarian nominees Nicholas Gluba in the 1st District and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District filed petitions Friday in Polk County District Court seeking to have themselves reinstated on the ballot. Marco Battaglia, the party's nominee in the 3rd District, confirmed in an interview that he is also filing an appeal.

On Wednesday, the three-member State Objection Panel voted 2-1 to uphold objections against all three candidates, removing them from the ballot this fall. The panel's two Republicans, Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird, voted to uphold the objections, while the lone dissent came from Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat.

More: 3 Libertarian congressional candidates are kicked off Iowa's November ballot. Here's why:

The Republican members of the panel agreed with the objectors that the Libertarian Party had failed to follow the proper procedures set out in Iowa law when nominating its congressional candidates.

The objections say the Libertarian Party violated the law by holding its county conventions on the same night as its precinct caucuses on Jan. 15, even though state law says county convention delegates don't begin their terms until the day after they are chosen.

The objections also say the Libertarian Party failed to notify county auditors of the results of its precinct caucuses, including the names of the people elected as county convention delegates, as required by state law.

Gluba and Aldrich argue in their appeals that the Iowans who filed the objections, who are all Republicans, lack the standing to challenge the Libertarian nominees, since they are not Libertarian voters. They also say the objectors failed to prove they are Iowa residents and eligible voters, both of which are required to object to a candidate's nomination under Iowa law.

Iowa Code Chapter 43.24 allows voters to challenge candidates' place on the ballot based on their nominating papers or their certificate of nomination. The candidates say the State Objection Panel went outside its authority by sustaining an objection related to the Libertarian Party's conventions.

"The grounds upon which the objectors seek relief — failure to follow party organization statutes — are not enumerated in section 43.24," the petitions state. "As a result, the State Objection Panel had no lawful basis to sustain the objection."

More: Republicans seek to remove Libertarians from the ballot in 3 Iowa congressional districts

The candidates also argue that U.S. Supreme Court precedent says that state law cannot dictate how political parties choose their own convention delegates and that removing the Libertarians from the ballot is a violation of their First Amendment free speech and free association rights.

Finally, the appeals for Gluba and Aldrich argue that the Libertarian Party's failure to hold county conventions on a separate day from their precinct caucuses amounts to a technical violation of the law that should have been corrected through a written notice from the Iowa secretary of state's office, not by removing the candidates from the ballot.

"A political party holding county conventions a few minutes early in January should be considered technical and not warrant removing candidates properly nominated in June," the petition states.

Gluba and Aldrich are being represented by Libertarian Party of Iowa Chair Jules Cutler, who also an attorney. Battaglia is being represented by West Des Moines attorney Jennifer De Kock.

More: At Soapbox, libertarian congressional candidate Marco Battaglia defends position on ballot

As of Friday afternoon, the state had not filed a response to the appeals and a hearing date had not been set.

Reached by phone Friday, Battaglia said he considers the challenge to his candidacy to be a waste of time and of taxpayers' money.

"It’s lawfare aimed at keeping competition off the ballot," he said.

Speaking Friday on an episode of "Iowa Press" on Iowa PBS, Bird denied that the decision to remove the Libertarians from the ballot was politically motivated.

"The law applies equally to everybody, every candidate, regardless of their party," she said. "And the issue there was they hadn't followed Chapter 43 of the Iowa Code that says how the process works and what needs to be done. And it's not up to me to pick and choose which parts of the code we're going to apply. It applies to everybody in the same way."

The state is set to certify its general election ballots on Sept. 3.

Early voting begins Oct. 16 for the Nov. 5 general election.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Libertarian congressional candidates appeal being kicked off ballot