ORLANDO, Fla. — There were 12 names listed on the ballot in Florida of candidates running for president in 2012. Eliminating Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the remaining 10 candidates amassed .9 percent of the vote. That’s roughly the same number of votes that separated Obama and Romney when the final votes were counted.
In a state as close as Florida was in 2012 and is expected to be in 2016, a few thousand votes matter.
This year, however, one candidate is being kept off the ballot, and he says it’s being done to protect Donald Trump.
“The best interest of the state -- that Floridians have as many choices as they can have in these races,” said independent candidate Evan McMullin. “We need other options. The American people do, and Floridians do. It is such an important state in our elections and Floridians deserve those options.”
McMullin is a former chief policy director for the House Republican Conference and a former CIA operations officer. His late entry into the race is seen by many Republicans and conservatives as alternative to Donald Trump, a man McMullin said is not a conservative.
In late August, his campaign finished what it thought were the necessary steps to secure his place on the Florida ballot by running him as the presidential candidate for the Independent Party of Florida.
However, on Sept. 7, the Florida Department of State informed McMullin’s campaign that it did not meet state statute, and therefore would not be added to the November ballot.
“The standard that they, Governor Scott’s administration, applied to my campaign and to the Independent Party of Florida was not applied to other parties, like the Reform Party and hasn’t been applied to the Independent Party in past elections. So I know Governor Scott is a huge supporter of Donald Trump. I understand that he’s co-chair with Donald Trump’s super PAC, but this isn’t good governance. It’s the opposite of that,” said McMullin.
McMullin’s campaign contends that Scott, who has not only endorsed Donald Trump but has actively fundraised for him, placed barriers in the campaign’s path to prevent McMullen from taking Florida votes from Trump.
“It’s corruption. This shouldn’t be what happens in America. We’re better than this,” said McMullin.
In a statement to Eyewitness News, a representative for Scott wrote: “Governor Scott takes the election process very seriously. The Department of State was following the process to determine a candidate’s ballot eligibility and that process is outlined in law.”
Scott and the Department of State contend the Independent Party of Florida doesn’t meet the standards set forth in section 103 of the Florida Statutes, saying the party is not “registered with and recognized as a qualified national committee of a political party by the Federal Election Commission.”
“The Department of State applies the same process to all minor political parties as required by Florida law,” said DOS representative Meredith Beatrice. “The process by which minor political parties are approved to have names of presidential candidates placed on the General Election ballot is determined by Section 103.021(4), Florida Statutes.”
The Independent Party, which has existed in the state for more than a decade, has never nominated anyone for president until this year.
The McMullin campaign said it is asking DOS to reconsider the decision, saying time is a factor since voting will start in just a few weeks and ballots need to be printed.
Statement: "After DOS determined the Independent Party of Florida did not meet the qualifications in law, EOG was informed."
Cox Media Group
