Independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Myers on Monday sued Secretary of State Jason Gant for not letting him replace his running mate on the November ballot. Myers’ lawsuit asks Judge Lawrence Piersol to order Gant to certify Lora Hubbel as his new lieutenant governor pick. Myers originally ran with Caitlin Collier as his lieutenant governor. But when Collier faced family health issues, she attempted to withdraw, leading Myers to pick Hubbel as his new running mate. But while South Dakota law has provisions for nominees of political parties to be replaced on the ballot, there’s no such provision for independent candidates. As near as anyone can tell, no independent lieutenant governor candidate has ever tried to withdraw from the ballot in South Dakota history.
Gant said he was unable to certify Hubbel as a new candidate without a law specifically allowing the substitution. He ruled that Collier’s name would remain on the ballot.
Myers’ lawsuit says he’s been “denied the same statutory procedure” available to Republicans and Democrats, a decision he says “fails the voters of South Dakota and unfairly and unnecessarily impairs the freedom of speech, the fundamental right to vote, and the associated rights of nonparty-affiliated independent candidates and voters.”
Full Article: Independent Myers sues Gant to replace running mate.