In an email to at least some Libertarians, LP Vice Presidential candidate Mike Ter Maat has revealed that he is being threatened by the FEC with Federal legal action, because he did not file the legally-mandated personal financial disclosure.
For readers less familiar with Federal Elections forms, there are three that are likely to be be relevant. There is the ‘Declaration of Candidatcy’, in which you advise the FEC that you are planning on running for President. There are the forms filed by the Treasurer, which show who has given your campaign money, how it was spent, and debts owed to or by the campaign. Finally, there is the ‘personal financial disclosure’, which reveals your liquid assets, in very round numbers, e.g., ‘between twenty and forty thousand’.
Ter Maat is refusing to file a Personal Financial Disclosure.
In this newspaper’s opinion, this sort of Wild West campaigning stunt needed to be announced to party members before the national convention, because it very definitely might influence a delegate’s choice of preferred Presidential candidate. If it was announced, we missed the announcement. This sort of campaign stunt is of negative value for our party.
I agree with George on this. If this is a great fight to have and a great idea why not tell the membership and delegates? Sorry, a message buried on X-com does not cut it.
It is conceivable that he could win a lawsuit. In 1976 in Buckley v Valeo, the US Supreme Court said a minor party presidential candidate might very well prevail if he or she sued to overturn some campaign finance laws. On the one hand the government assumes a minor party presidential candidate has no chance to win an election and justifies letting corporations finance general election presidential debates that only include the two major party nominees. Also the federal election only provides Secret Service protection to the two major party nominees plus a very rare set of other candidates. So if the government already knows Mike ter Maat won’t win, what is the governmental interest in requiring public disclosure of his assets?
A Libertarian taking a stand of refusing to fill out an invasive ticky-dot government form is a GOOD THING and shows a Libertarian willing to stick to actual libertarian principles. This makes me like him more.
Could this be what stops the ticket from finally winning, or is that still LPNH?
Many candidates refuse such things and we should applaud them
Well jeez… can things get any worse for the LP and/or its national ticket this year? Wait… don’t answer that. I don’t think I want to know!
Mr. Phillies, ter Maat did announce WELL BEFORE the national convention that he refused this invasion of his privacy. Ter Maat mentions that he formally noticed the FEC that he had refused to participate in the disclosure on May 18, 2023. See here: https://x.com/MikeTerMaat4VP/status/1835429020995088425
Something buried on X-com is not terribly visible to many people.
Without looking it up, I assume the penalty for this would only apply to Ter Maat personally and would not impact ballot access or even the FEC’s tabulation of votes for the Oliver ticket. If that is the case, it is completely irrelevant and pointless protest unless he expects to win a lawsuit that such disclosures should not be required of any candidate.