COLUMBUS, Ohio—Secretary of State Jon Husted was justified in kicking Libertarian attorney general candidate Steve Linnabary off next month’s primary ballot, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a unanimous, unsigned ruling, the high court upheld Husted's decision that people paid to collect petition signatures for Linnabary didn't properly disclose who had employed them.

The justices rejected Linnabary’s claims that throwing out his petition signatures violated his constitutional rights to free speech and due process.

Instead, they found Husted’s interpretation of the employer disclosure law is “reasonable and is therefore entitled to judicial deference.”

Last month, a federal judge issued a similar ruling against Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Charlie Earl. Earl said Thursday that he expects a ruling by April 15 on whether the appeals court will order him on the May 6 primary ballot.