Former Missouri Governor and Attorney General Jay Nixon Joins No Labels to Protect the Constitutional Right of Americans to Choose Their Leaders

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Jul 29, 2023, 14:54 ET

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid a coordinated effort to undermine No Labels' work to secure ballot access in states nationwide, we have named Jay Nixon – a lifelong Democrat who spent 30 years serving Missouri as a governor, attorney general and state senator – as director of our new Ballot Integrity Project.

Since early last year, No Labels has gathered over 700,000 signatures and qualified for the ballot in five states. We have a strategy to get on the ballot in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., with the aim of potentially offering our line to an independent Unity presidential ticket in 2024. No Labels is responding to the overwhelming desire of Americans for more choices and voices in our politics – with two-thirds of voters saying they don't want a rematch of the 2020 election – but we now face organized opposition from a group of political operatives and former elected officials intent on keeping us off the ballot.

"At a moment when so many Americans' are losing trust in our democracy, we need to hold even tighter to the pillars that have held our democracy up for almost 250 years. In our country, you win by persuading more people and getting more votes, not by limiting voters' choices and denying competitors a place on the ballot," said Nixon. "Americans have the constitutional right to put any person or party on the ballot and to vote for whomever they want. Anyone who is against that isn't standing up for democracy. They are standing in the way."

Former Gov. Larry Hogan will welcome Nixon to the No Labels community in his first scheduled public appearance at a town hall on Tuesday, August 1, at 5 p.m. ET. Register here to join the town hall.

In Nixon's decorated public service career, he established a stellar record as a champion for the civil and voting rights of Americans. In his new role with No Labels, Nixon will work closely with No Labels national co-chair and civil rights icon, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., to monitor legal developments, provide strategic counsel and serve as a public advocate for No Labels' ballot access efforts.

Since the start of its ballot access effort, No Labels has rigorously followed the letter and spirit of all applicable election laws. In recent months, however, it has become the target of an undemocratic campaign by organized and powerful partisan interests determined to keep No Labels off the ballot.

Local parties and partisan election officials have filed baseless lawsuits, invented spurious charges and delayed certification without justification in Arizona, Maine and North Carolina. Now, a new well-resourced group, organized under the name "Citizens to Save our Republic," has embarked on an effort to pressure No Labels and its members to abandon our ballot access effort.

"No Labels is a movement dedicated to democracy, and democracy can't stop because the powers that be think it's 'dangerous' to have competition," said Chavis. "The way to unite this country and to restore Americans faith in our future is to have more democracy, not less. I'm eager to begin working side by side with former Gov. Nixon to protect Americans' most fundamental constitutional rights."

On July 18, No Labels launched its Common Sense policy booklet at an overflow town hall event at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., featuring Dr. Chavis, his fellow No Labels co-chairs former Gov. Pat McCrory and Sen. Joe Lieberman and special guests Sen. Joe Manchin and Gov. Jon Huntsman. It was the first of many town halls No Labels will host in the months ahead – with different leaders in different states – to spur a long overdue discussion about where America needs to go in 2024 and beyond.

By early 2024, No Labels will gauge the mood of the American public and their openness to an independent Unity ticket and will offer our ballot line to a ticket if and only if, such a ticket has a viable path to victory in the 2024 presidential election.

Since its founding in 2009, No Labels has spent 13 years working to give voice to America's commonsense majority. We are now getting ballot access in states across the country to ensure Americans have the choice to vote for a 2024 presidential ticket that features strong, effective, and honest leaders who will commit to working closely with both parties to find commonsense solutions to America's biggest problems. www.nolabels.org.

SOURCE No Labels