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Fed. Court Backs State In 2008 Mass. Ballot Case

A federal appeals court has ruled that Massachusetts' top election official was within his rights to try to block the name of the Libertarian Party's national presidential candidate from the state ballot in 2008.

The state Libertarian party had initially put a local presidential contender on its nomination papers.

Secretary of State William Galvin, citing state election laws, said the party could not then substitute the name of national Libertarian candidate Bob Barr.

Before the election, a federal judge ordered the state to put Barr's name on the state ballot. He received less than one percent of the vote.

On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state's ballot laws are nondiscriminatory and that Barr had enough time to collect the needed 10,000 signatures.

This program aired on November 17, 2010. The audio for this program is not available.

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