A federal judge this week ruled that No Labels, the group organizing a third-party presidential run, can prevent candidates from running on its ballot line in races other than for president and vice president, The Messenger reports.
The legal battle concerned No Label's argument that it did not need to file financial disclosures under Arizona law because the group has no candidates running in state-level elections. Judge John Tuchi ruled that No Labels has a First Amendment right to decide who the group associates with.
"Our ballot line cannot be hijacked. Our movement will not be stopped," Benjamin Chavis, Jr., a national co-chair for No Labels said in a statement with former Democrat Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, No Label's director of ballot integrity.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes criticized the decision in a statement.
"The court is dead wrong," Fontes said. "While we respect the judge's authority to weigh the law and facts, we will be working with the Attorney General's Office to request expedited review of the order in the Ninth Circuit."
He added, "This current decision will disenfranchise almost 19,000 registered Arizona voters, and if it stands, it could potentially derail the entire candidate nomination process."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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