Judge declines to put Libertarian on congressional ballot

ATLANTA - Libertarian Wayne Parker lost his case Friday to have his name put on the 11th Congressional District ballot, but he has one last chance in federal court. <br> <br> Parker, trying to become the first minor-party candidate in Georgia to run for the U.S. House in 59 years, turned in roughly 18,000 signatures, almost twice the number needed for third-party candidates to get on the ballot. <br> <br> But more than 8,400 signatures were declared invalid because the signers did not live in the 11th District, which includes parts of 17 counties along the Georgia-Alabama line from Chattooga County south to Muscogee County. <br> <br> Parker challenged that decision in Fulton County Superior Court, saying the process of validating signatures was inconsistent and unfair. <br> <br> No evidence was presented Friday to back this claim, however. <br> <br> ``There&#39;s been no proof that stopping the election process from going forward while the plaintiff gathers evidence would get us anywhere,&#39;&#39; Chief Judge Elizabeth Long ruled. <br> <br> Parker and the Libertarians will try again Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. <br> <br> Linda Beazley, director of the state elections division, testified that her office found 856 additional names on Parker&#39;s petition. But that did not put him over the threshold needed to appear on the ballot. <br> <br> In the 11th District, Republican Phil Gingrey and Democrat Roger Kahn are locked in a close race. Parker&#39;s presence could sway the race with only a few percentage points.