COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Votes cast for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in Ohio will not be counted even though her name appeared on the state’s ballot ahead of Tuesday’s election. , after an appeals court panel denied his motion to force the top election official to count them.
The three-judge panel of the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday against his request for an injunction targeting Republican Secretary of Government Frank LaRose as part of a dispute over the person listed as his running mate in the ticket.
Stein ran as an independent presidential candidate in Ohio because the Green Party lost state recognition several years ago. He listed Anita Rios — the party’s nominee for governor in 2014 — as a provisional running mate until Butch Ware was nominated at the national convention on August 17.
Ware’s nomination occurred after the state’s Aug. 12 administrative deadline to replace an independent vice presidential candidate, according to election officials.
LaRose’s office granted a request to remove Rios’ name, but said Ware could not be added. He then notified Stein’s campaign later that month that his votes would not count even though he was on the ballot.
Stein’s lawsuit argued that the letter requesting Rios’ removal was written and delivered by a local party official without Rios’ knowledge or consent. He asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction and restraining order to ensure that any votes for Stein would be counted.
LaRose has instructed Ohio’s 88 county election boards to inform voters that votes for Stein “will be void and will not be counted,” according to court documents.
As a Green Party nominee in 2016, Stein won 46,271 votes in Ohio, or 0.84% of the state vote.
___
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
