Michael "The Body" Munger

Michael Munger, a Libertarian Duke professor running for governor of NC, is described in a News & Observer article as a reformer who "wants to create a robust school-voucher program, end the death penalty, curb cities' power to annex property, slash many state departments and generally be a thorn in the side of a legislature he sees as corrupt and wasteful."

Remember Jesse Ventura, the professional wrestler who was elected Governor of Minnesota?

"When [Ventura] was first elected, everybody thought it was a joke. But he was a pretty successful governor in a difficult state. In some ways that would be the model I would use. I would be Michael 'The Body' Munger."

Libertarian Duke professor wants to be N.C. governor
News and Observer, Politics, Feb. 14, 2008

Munger's campaign website: Munger08.com

Editorial on Ballot Access in NC

The News and Observer recently published an editorial about the struggles of Libertarian Party and the Green Party to get on the ballot in North Carolina. Regarding ballot access rules, the author wrote:

“It's obvious that North Carolina is way out of the mainstream.... So in the interest of fairness the legislature should simply loosen the rules. Find a spot comfortably in the middle of the states, and position our law there."

Update: Barbara Howe, current Chair of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina and a long-time Libertarian who's endured 6 of these petition drives, responded to this editorial. From her letter:

"... it's simply wrong that citizens of a free country should face arbitrary barriers to give citizens more choices."

To help expand voter choice, sign the petitions to get the Libertarian Party and the Green Party on the ballot in NC.

On the Ballot
News and Observer, Opinions, Feb. 9, 2008

Expanding vote choices
News and Observer, Opinions, Feb 14, 2008

No Summary Judgement in the LPNC Lawsuit

Contributed by Brian Irving

A superior court judge denied motions for summary judgment January 30 in the Libertarian Party of North Carolina's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's election statutes.

Judge Leon Stanback Jr. said that, although he personally believed North Carolina's signature requirements for ballot access are too high, both sides in the case clearly do not agree on all the facts presented to him. Therefore, he said the case should be properly decided by a trial court.

“We're surprised, and pleased, by this ruling,” said Sean Haugh, former LPNC executive director and a plaintiff in the suit. “Neither side expected this result.” The trial will probably be held in March.

The LPNC initiated the suit in September 2005 and was later joined by the Green Party. Several individual Libertarian and Green party members are also listed as plaintiffs.

The suit asks the court to declare invalid all North Carolina's statutes regulating political parties. This includes the number of signatures required to get on the ballot and the number of votes needed to retain ballot status.

Libertarians contend that North Carolina has the most restrictive ballot access rules in the nation.

State law requires a new party to collect signatures from two percent of the number of people who voted in the previous presidential or gubernatorial election in order to be recognized under state law. This equates to about 70,000 signatures, five times more than the median requirement of any other state with similar rules.

Then, the new party must achieve two percent of the vote for governor of president in order to maintain state recognition.

Meanwhile, the LPNC continue the ballot access drive. Currently, we have collected about 97,000 raw signatures and have about 58,000 signatures verified. Our goal is still 100,000 in order to reach the “magic number” of need 69,733 valid signatures.