The effort by Aaron Day, an independent candidate for U.S. Senate, to get his name on the New Hampshire ballot in November received a boost Thursday, when a federal magistrate judge sided with him in his lawsuit against the state.
The New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office now has seven days to appeal, before a judge will formally sign off on the ruling.
Day is a libertarian activist who is seeking to run as an independent, but was initially blocked from the ballot by state election officials. In June, Secretary of State David Scanlan twice denied Day’s filing because Day had not registered to vote in Nashua, where he recently moved to from Bedford. State law requires candidates for elected office to be registered voters where they live.
Day filed an emergency lawsuit, arguing that the U.S. Constitution lays out the three qualifications for serving in the Senate: that the candidate be at least 30 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and a resident of the state at the time of the election. Day argued that the state of New Hampshire can’t impose additional hurdles.
In a 22-page decision released Thursday, federal magistrate judge Andrea Johnstone said the state’s application of its own regulations was not "constitutionally sound.”
“The citizens of New Hampshire are entitled to select from the group of qualified candidates for United States Senate who satisfy the constitutional requirements to be placed on the ballot,” she wrote.
Johnstone’s recommendation that Day appear on the ballot must now be approved by federal Judge Landya McCafferty.
Day, who is representing himself in the case, touted in an email to supporters Thursday how he successfully used artificial intelligence to help prepare his legal briefs.
“They had the full weight of the State. Career prosecutors. Unlimited resources,” he wrote. “I had a laptop. No lawyers. No law firm. My legal team was AI.”
In an interview Thursday, Day said he was “elated” by the ruling and has already collected more than the required 3,000 signatures he’ll need to have his name included on the November ballot.
Day’s goal — whether he gets on the ballot or not — is not necessarily to win the Senate seat. Instead, he’s openly campaigning on the premise of taking away votes from Republican John E. Sununu, who polls show is leading in the GOP primary. Day’s campaign website includes a section titled “Stop Sununu,” with a large number of attack ads.
Day also played spoiler in New Hampshire's 2016 Senate race, when he received nearly 18,000 votes, enough to help defeat Republican Kelly Ayotte, who lost to then-Gov. Maggie Hassan by just over 1,000 votes. At the time, Day said he was motivated by what he saw as flaws in the Republican platform.
