TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- A Tallahassee, Fla., judge has knocked Reform Party candidate Ralph Nader off the November presidential ballot in Florida, The Miami Herald reported Friday.
The decision Thursday was considered a boost for John Kerry's campaign. Many Democrats blame Nader for Al Gore's loss to President Bush in 2000.
Gore lost Florida, the deciding state, by 537 votes and Nader had collected 2 percent of the vote. Democrats believe most of the Nader votes would have gone to Gore.
Circuit Judge Kevin Davey ruled Thursday that the Reform party, which nominated Nader, was no longer the legitimate political party it was when it was led by Ross Perot.
Democrats led the effort to take Nader off the ballot this year.
"Since the 2000 election, where they put up Pat Buchanan, they've had no candidate for any office, not even dogcatcher," said Ed Stafman, a lawyer with the Ballot Project, which is spearheading the effort to keep Nader off the ballot nationally.
Nader said he would appeal the ruling. He lashed out at the "Jim Crow ballot access laws that have absorbed our time and resources in state after state."
