Nader sues to force name onto Ohio ballot

Independent Nader sues to get on Ohio's ballot
Staff And Wire Reports 10/08/2004

COLUMBUS -- Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has sued the state in federal court to force his name onto the November ballot.
A Tuesday hearing is expected in a lawsuit Nader filed in U.S. District Court over a state law requiring people who collect petitions for candidates to live in Ohio.

That law violates the constitutional rights of registered voters who signed the petitions but whose names were discarded because the petition collector didn't live in the state, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Instead, the law is meant for ''the sole convenience of the Secretary of State and local Boards'' to meet procedural requirements for checking a nominating petition, the lawsuit said.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell ruled last month that Nader failed to collect the 5,000 signatures needed to appear on the ballot after forged signatures and petitions circulated by non-Ohioans left Nader short.