Rep. Sean Roberts.Photo: Sean Roberts/Twitter
A Republican candidate running for office in Oklahomacannot be called “The Patriot"on a ballot, a state election panel ruled this week, after the man attempted to use the phrase in lieu of his actual name.
State Rep. Sean Roberts had argued that “The Patriot” is his nickname and should therefore be able to appear on the ballot in Oklahoma, where he is running for labor commissioner.
But according to Oklahoma election rules, candidates can use a nickname on the ballot only if it’s one that is generally known.
After Roberts filed to run for office earlier this month as Sean “The Patriot” Roberts, his opponent — incumbent Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn, also a Republican — filed a petition arguing that the name is not generally known and instead an attempt to “misdirect or mislead voters.”
Osborn further argued that the Roberts' candidacy should be struck, with his name not placed on the ballot at all.
The election board ultimately determined that Roberts could stay on the ballot — albeit not as “The Patriot” and he would be required to use his own name.
The Associated Press reports that Roberts has used his own name — either Kevin Sean Roberts or Sean Roberts — on the ballot in seven successive elections in Oklahoma.
Inpress releasesand campaign materials, he refers to himself as Sean “The Patriot” Roberts and said in a statement sent this week that he was considering an appeal of the election panel’s decision.
“Roberts has routinely been called the patriot for getting constitutional carry passed into law and being the only Republican legislator to survive a primary attack in 2018 after not voting to increase taxes,” his campaign claimed in a press release.
In earlier statements, Roberts called the petition a “nefarious attack on my nickname.”
source: people.com
