I'm a long time lurker on marxmail, reading just about every day for over a year. I was moved to forward this Charlotte Observer article (now in the registrant-only archives) on Democratic Party efforts to keep Nader off the ballot in my home state of South Carolina. Kerry has no shot of winning SC of course, no way. Bush will carry that state by 20%. Nader got almost 2% of the SC vote in 2000. Obviously, the mere idea of Nader/Camejo campaign can't be suffered. The Dems are out to limit choice first, and save themselves the trouble of responding to a leftist/populist campaign, even in deepest Bush country.
Interestingly, Cobb and Socialist Party nominee Walt Brown will be on the ballot since the Greens and the local United Citizens Party (which independently nominated Brown) have automatic ballot access. They can't be kicked off prior to the election. I'd bet the Dems will ignore them in the safe assumption that no one will know who Cobb and Brown are. Neither are mentioned on the article below.
Yours,
Scott W.
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Posted on Fri, Jul. 30, 2004 Groups in S.C. attack petitions favoring Nader
Signatures questioned; effort could keep the hopeful off state's ballot http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/9278787.htm?1c
HEATHER VOGELL Staff Writer
Planning to look for Ralph Nader on the S.C. ballot in this November's presidential election?
You may not find him.
Groups of S.C. residents and attorneys are questioning pro-Nader petitions in various counties -- including York, election workers confirmed Thursday.
If the groups convince officials to toss out more than 1,000 of the 11,000 signatures supporting Nader statewide, he could be booted from the ballot.
Simon Demory, Nader's S.C. coordinator, said it's alarming that state Democrats are working to suppress Nader's candidacy.
"Personally, I think it's a very, very scary thing," he said. "That's a pretty dangerous precedent to set."
Organizers said they are trying only to make sure the signatures are legally valid, because they could affect the election.
"If he doesn't have 10,000, he shouldn't be on the ballot," said Charleston attorney Peter Wilborn, who is challenging Nader's petition in Charleston County.
Similar efforts are also taking place in Michigan and Arizona. Nader supporters filed a federal lawsuit in Michigan this week to secure a spot on the ballot.
Democratic leaders nationwide are trying to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election, when Al Gore supporters complained Nader siphoned off votes that could have vaulted the Democrat into the White House.
This time around, Nader is refusing to step aside despite intense pressure from the party.
Joe Erwin, S.C. Democratic Party chairman, said the S.C. groups are working independently of the state party, which is forbidden from seeking to keep a candidate off the ballot.
Last week, a request for volunteers to "keep Ralph Nader off the South Carolina ballot" ran in the newsletter of the S.C. Democratic Leadership Council, a Democratic think tank. But its director, Phil Noble, said Thursday that his group didn't sponsor the item.
Wilborn and another organizer said they are both Democrats but aren't party officers and aren't mounting challenges on the party's behalf.
Wilborn said his group found problems in Charleston that included illegible signatures and signatures from people not on the county's voter rolls.
Columbia Attorney Jeff Bloom said his group has filed challenges in 10 to 12 counties that received pro-Nader petitions. He said that after combing through samples of signatures, volunteers found 25 to 50 percent were invalid.
Nader received about 1 1/2 percent of the S.C. vote in the 2000 election, amounting to 20,200 ballots. President Bush beat Gore by 220,376 votes statewide.
On July 15, Nader's supporters submitted a roughly 11,000-signature petition to the S.C. Election Commission.
Bloom said rumors are circulating that Republicans are behind some of the signature-collection drives.
But S.C. GOP Executive Director Luke Byars said he hasn't heard anything about Republicans organizing for Nader.
"Republicans don't have to rely on Ralph Nader for a win in South Carolina," he said. "I think we can handle that all by ourselves."
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