In the March 9 Louisiana presidential primary election, the candidate of your choice may not appear on the ballot.
According to the Secretary of State’s Web site, eight candidates have qualified to appear on the ballot. They are Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, John Edwards, John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, Lyndon LaRouche Jr., Joe Lieberman and Bill McGaughey. Missing is the Reverend Al Sharpton.
“The problem with Al is that he didn’t get his qualification paperwork and payment in on time,” said Scott Madere, press secretary for the Secretary of State’s office.
Sharpton is now suing the state to get his name on the ballot. His hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
“He tried to pay with an improper check,” Madere said. “By statute, we can only accept certain forms of payment. The statute is very clear about what we can and cannot accept.”
He said the courts will settle the issue and that the state could be ordered to reprint the ballots.
“If he ordered us to reprint the ballots, it would be a tight squeeze,” Madere said.
He said it would take several weeks to reprint the ballots and if the judge orders them to do so, it may result in a delay of the primary.
Madere said Clark will remain on the ballot despite the fact that he has announced the end of his candidacy and has endorsed Kerry.
“There is a difference between what a candidate says and does,” Madere said.
Madere said Lieberman sent the office a notarized statement that he was withdrawing from the election race and, as a result, will not appear on the ballot. Unless Clark does the same, his votes will be counted.
“Ballots were sent to the printer last week,” Madere said.
He said Clark will appear on the ballot because it is too late to alter it, but if Clark sends the notarized statement his votes will not be counted.
“Everybody is going to be on the ballot except for Lieberman,” Madere said.
Madere said Clark will receive Louisiana’s delegates in the unlikely event that he wins the election.
Robert Hogan, assistant professor of political science, said election problems are common.
“Even popular candidates miss out if they do not have anyone to represent them at the state level,” Hogan said.
He said it was relatively common for a candidate to be left off the ballot in a particular state. Hogan said in the 1996 Presidential election, Ross Perot was left off many state ballots.
Hogan said unorganized campaigns at the state level are the cause of many other problems.
“A candidate may receive fewer delegates than they are entitled to,” Hogan said. “In New York, for example, there were some congressional districts where Kerry does not have delegates, so if he wins those districts, he may not have anyone to represent him.”
In that case, Hogan said the delegates may go into the “undeclared” category and no one would receive them.
“It is difficult to get on the ballot,” he said. “There are all sorts of snafus.”
According to CNN.com, Louisiana has 72 total delegates to offer presidential candidates. Sixty of these will be determined by the March 9 election.
To receive the presidential nomination, a candidate must receive 2,161 delegates. Kerry is the current leader with 578 delegates.