Con-Fusion in South Carolina

South Carolina is one of the states that allows fusion, which means that more than one party may nominate the same candidate. The Palmetto State law stipulates that, when a candidate wins a minor party's nomination and then runs unsuccessfully for a major party's nomination, he must give up the minor party's nomination and cannot run in the general election.

In 2008, Eugene Platt received the Green Party's nomination for a state legislative seat. He then ran in the Democratic primary and lost, so the state would not permit his name to be placed on the ballot as the Green Party nominee. Platt brought a federal lawsuit against the state, and U. S. district judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Clinton appointee, today upheld the state law. His reasoning was that the Green Party could have replaced Platt with another nominee.

This is an interesting case, and I hope Platt and the Greens appeal.

Click here to see the ruling.

Thanks to Ballot Access News.