Most Americans have a general sense that the Republican and Democrat



parties have too much control over our political system and electoral



process, but, for Ohio voters, Senate Bill 193 is a stark demonstration



of just how ruthless those in power work to fend off challenges to the



status quo.







Passed earlier this month, and signed by Gov. Kasich, SB 193 removes all



challenger parties from the Ohio ballot in 2014, and makes it more



difficult for them to regain status as a recognized political party in



Ohio.







The bill's sponsor, Sen. Bill Seitz said he introduced the bill because



Ohio had no election law in place for minor parties. This is true, having



been the case since 2006 when a federal court declared Ohio minor party



law unconstitutional in LPO v. Blackwell. In the absence of a law,



federal courts have directed the Ohio Secretary of State to allow any



party showing a modicum of support access to the ballot. In the



intervening seven years Ohio lawmakers have not lifted a finger to change



this situation, but suspiciously chose to do so once it became clear that



incoming Gov. John Kasich might have trouble getting reelected in 2014.







Because Libertarian party gubernatorial candidate Because Libertarian party gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl seems to



be attracting many fiscal conservatives disgusted by Kasich's record on



taxes, spending, and Obamacare/Medicare expansion, the Republican Party



in the House and Senate decided to act to restrict voter choice.







Rather than becoming more responsive to voters and making a positive case



for their party, the Ohio GOP is afraid to let voters have a freedom



option. Even though our internal data suggest that we draw support



equally from Republicans, Democrats, and independents, Republicans seem



to have the most acute fear of Libertarians, perhaps out of the



realization that the GOP seldom lives up to their fiscally conservative



posturing.







For the Republican establishment, the immediate issue here is the decline



of their party and the difficulty its leader faces in Ohio, but for the



rest of us this is a voting rights issue. When political expediency is



used to limit democratic participation, everyone should be alarmed.







The Libertarian Party of Ohio has consistently lobbied for a fair,



constitutional election law for minor parties since 2006, but we have



been ignored. Neither us nor any other minor party was consulted before



SB 193 was proposed. No one in the entire state of Ohio came forward to



testify in favor of it.







On Wednesday, the United States District Court for the Southern District



of Ohio struck down Senate Bill 47, also, curiously, introduced by Sen.



Seitz and challenged by the Libertarian party of Ohio, that in July made



it illegal for anyone to hire out-of-state petitioners to collect



signatures.







It's clear that Kasich, Seitz, and the GOP took this step in advance of



SB 193 to further make it harder for the Libertarian Party to requalify



in 2014. We hope that the court's decision, which clearly states that SB



47 limits the right of political participation guaranteed by the First



Amendment, signals that the court will also block SB 193 on similar



grounds.







Let's hope that SB 193 is merely a death rattle of a corrupt two-party



system, and not another victory for those afraid that Americans might



succeed in putting government back in its place as a servant of the



people.