Nader Ballot Access Cases
Nader Ballot Access Cases
Voting Rights & Elections
The Center represented Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader in lawsuits in Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, South Dakota, and West Virginia seeking to place Nader on the November 2000 presidential ballot. The Center argued that ballot access rules in those states have placed an unconstitutional and unfair burden on the candidate.
In these cases, the Center noted that burdensome ballot access requirements force third-party candidates, like Nader, to demonstrate substantial support well before the major parties have even named their nominees or adopted their platforms, at a time when many serious alternative candidates are still in their formative stages. These burdensome rules make it difficult for anyone but major party candidates and others with access to a substantial sum of money to hire professional petition circulators to qualify for the ballot.
The Center prevailed in both Illinois and South Dakota where federal judges struck early filing deadlines. However, in South Dakota the Nader campaign did not present enough petitions to gain access to the ballot. The Center also prevailed in West Virginia. In North Carolina, the court denied the Center’s motion for preliminary injunction.
