INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- In 2006, the Libertarian Party of Indiana lost one dozen candidates from the general election ballot due to a technicality in election law. The party leadership is not going to allow that to happen again in 2008.
"We took a real hit in 2006," LPIN State Chairman Todd Singer noted. "We lost a lot of momentum with some great new candidates that year. It's taken some time to get that momentum back. This year looks great for us."
In 2006, the Indiana State Election Division disallowed the libertarian candidates' filings stating that the LPIN did not meet the requirement to file an intent to fill a vacancy ten days prior to the deadline to fill the vacancy."
"We met the filing deadline," Singer continued. "We just didn't tell them we were going to meet the deadline. It was a change in election law in 2005 that caught us off-guard. We know now."
With the LPIN convention adjourned, questions remain whether there were any election law changes in 2007 that affect the party. The Central Committee is looking into the process for filling vacancies now and reviewing their understanding with the Election Division officials.
"We do know that the law creates a lot more work for me and Melanie [LPIN Secretary," laughed Singer. "We used to rely on our County Chairmen in affiliated counties to fill the post-convention vacancies for local races, sign off on the paperwork and work with those candidates. Now, those vacancies have to be signed off by us at the state level for each of the 92 counties. While it's more paperwork, I welcome all the candidates we can put into those races."
The LPIN must first file a "Notice of Intent to Fill" letter with each of the county clerks. Once the notice is provided the clerk or appropriate election board, the LPIN can fill the vacancies that exist.
