BANGOR — A federal judge has ordered Maine election officials to allow Libertarian Party members to reenroll in an expedited process and to nominate candidates for the 2022 elections.
The order by Judge Lance Walker, signed on Dec. 31, requires Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to send letters informing Libertarians that their unenrollment was unlawful and that they may rejoin.
The judge also ruled that due to tight timetables, Libertarians can nominate candidates under the party banner for the 2022 election, regardless whether their numbers reach the minimum threshold under state law. The ruling was first reported by the Bangor Daily News.
Libertarians qualified for party status in July 2016 by enrolling more than 5,000 members. But it did not meet the state law requirement of at least 10,000 members voting in the following election.
A lawsuit contends the state effectively discarded more than 6,000 voter registrations when it unenrolled Libertarians without their permission. That left only 105 registered Libertarian voters.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.