Ed. Note: As the press release
below indicates, the Johnson campaign thought it had a route to
Oklahoma ballot access through the Americans Elect line, but on Aug.
17, 2012 the Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General, responding to the
Oklahoma
State Election Board, recommended against placement of those electors
on the ballot. Ballot Access
News noted that the opinion was not made public until Aug. 29
and in effect "tricked" Oklahoma Libertarians into postponing a ballot
access lawsuit. (>)
PRESS RELEASE from Gary Johnson 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joe Hunter
AMERICANS ELECT PLACES GOV. GARY JOHNSON
ON PRESIDENTIAL BALLOT IN OKLAHOMA
August 8, 2012, Santa Fe, NM —
The nonpartisan organization Americans Elect has
submitted the names of presidential electors to the Oklahoma State
Board
of Elections who have pledged to support former New Mexico Governor and
Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson for President and Judge Jim
Gray for Vice President. The nomination by Americans Elect ensures that
Gov. Johnson's name will be on the November ballot in Oklahoma.
Due
to ongoing litigation over ballot access, Gov. Johnson's inclusion
on the presidential ballot in Oklahoma was otherwise in dispute.
Applauding
Americans Elect's action, Johnson said, "It is vital that voters in
every state have real choices in November, choices that are not
narrowed
down for them by the two so-called major parties. That is why I am
running, and that is what I believe Americans Elect is about. The
Americans Elect Oklahoma party deserves
tremendous credit for making certain that voters
in Oklahoma will not be held hostage by arbitrary ballot access rules
designed to limit their choices.
"We
have pledged to overcome every partisan obstacle in order to be on the
ballot in every state, and I am grateful to Americans Elect for taking
an important step toward ensuring a truly free and open election."
The Johnson-Gray ticket is planning to be on the ballot in all 50
states and the District of Columbia.
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