COLUMBUS, Ohio — Votes cast for Jill Stein, the Green Party’s candidate for president, in Ohio are set to remain uncounted, even though she is listed on the state’s ballot for Tuesday’s election. This decision follows a ruling from a panel of three judges on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied her request to compel state election officials to tally the votes.
The panel’s ruling came after Stein sought an injunction against the Republican Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, amid a dispute concerning the candidate listed as her running mate on the ballot. Given that the Green Party lost its state recognition several years ago, Stein had to list herself as an independent presidential candidate in Ohio. She had initially named Anita Rios—who was the party’s nominee for governor in 2014—as a temporary running mate until Butch Ware received his nomination at the national convention on August 17.
However, Ware’s nomination occurred after an important deadline on August 12, which prevented the replacement of an independent vice-presidential candidate, according to election officials. LaRose’s office allowed the removal of Rios’s name from the ballot but stated that Ware could not be added. They subsequently informed Stein’s campaign that, although her name would still appear on the ballot, any votes cast for her would not be counted.
In her legal action, Stein contended that the request to withdraw Rios’s name was made without Rios’s knowledge or consent by a local party official. The lawsuit sought a preliminary injunction and a restraining order to ensure that all votes for Stein would be counted.
In accordance with court documents, LaRose has directed Ohio’s 88 county election boards to inform voters that any votes cast for Stein will be deemed void and will not be counted. During her previous run as the Green Party candidate in 2016, Stein received 46,271 votes in Ohio, which accounted for approximately 0.84% of the overall vote in the state.