ATLANTA, GA — Members of the state Libertarian Party affiliate expressed profound disappointment this week after losing ballot access for the upcoming state auditor race—a contest in which they did not have a candidate or even vague interest in until the paperwork deadline had already passed.
“This is a serious loss for the principles of liberty,” said State Political Director Brent Halley, visibly distressed. “We should absolutely be allowed to appear on the ballot, even if we couldn’t convince a single person to file. It’s about the option of freedom.”
According to sources, party leadership spent months discussing potential strategies to maintain ballot access, none of which involved actually nominating someone. “We had lots of meetings,” said Halley. “We just… didn’t have a guy.”
Members expressed frustration with what they describe as “deeply unfair” ballot access laws that require political parties to either run candidates or at least try to. “It’s anti-liberty,” said one affiliate treasurer. “We should not have to participate in politics in order to participate in politics.”
When asked whether they would be mounting a lawsuit or petition campaign to regain access, Halley said the party would instead focus on posting online and issuing strongly worded resolutions.
At press time, the party had released a statement condemning the decision as “tyrannical, technocratic, and frankly disrespectful to the broader cause of hypothetical candidacies.”
