Nader/Gonzalez Will Add Louisiana to list of Ballot Qualified States
Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (Washington) Chris Driscoll, 202-360-3273, chris@votenader.org;
(LA) Ramy Mousa, 225-892-2170, ramy@votenader.org
NADER/GONZALEZ WILL ADD LOUISIANA TO LIST OF BALLOT QUALIFIED STATES
Supporters of Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader will submit ballot qualifying materials to the Louisiana Secretary of State's office on Friday Aug. 29, at 11 a.m., to place Mr. Nader and running-mate Matt Gonzalez on the November 2008 election ballot.
Louisiana will be the 42nd state in which the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line since Mr. Nader announced his intent to run during a February 24 appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." To qualify to appear on Louisiana's ballot, the campaign is required to file specific documents, indicating its choice of Presidential Electors, along with a fee of $500. Louisiana has one of the least complicated routes to granting ballot access, presenting a welcome respite from other states' arduous requirements. It is undemocratic, however, for there to be such variance in the ballot access laws of the United States. The Nader/Gonzalez campaign is committed to election law reform establishing a single, nationwide set of democratic laws for ballot access.
The Nader/Gonzalez Campaign is on schedule for securing ballots spots in 45 states, and qualifying for write-in votes in 4 others.
Ramy Mousa, Nader/Gonzalez Louisiana State Coordinator, will hold a news conference in the lobby of the Secretary of State's office, Elections Division, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809.
Mr. Nader plans to campaig in Louisiana in mid-September. He will focus his remarks on the failure of the federal government to adequately respond to the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. It is absolutely shameful that residents are still without homes, and that corporations are seizing the opportunity to displace former residents and gentrify disaster-vacated real estate.
WHO: Louisiana Nader/Gonzalez 2008 Campaign
WHAT: News Conference and ballot qualification submission
WHEN: Friday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m.
WHERE: lobby of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, 8585 Archives Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70809.
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a 7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July 27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10 million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit: votenader.org.
