thursday,may 6,2004
news
the university daily kansan
7A
STATE
Man eludes police, gets signatures
The Associated Press
WICHITA - A Wichita man who is gathering petitions to put a presidential candidate on the Kansas ballot continues to run afoul of police and the postal service.
service. Police and federal agents have told Nicholas Sumbles to move along four times since he began collecting signatures in Wichita to put a Constitution Party presidential candidate on the Kansas ballot.
bailout.
He said postal service officials had told him he could be arrested if he tried to collect signatures again in front of the post office.
Sumbles needs 8,000 signatures to get Constitution Party candidate Michael Peroutka on the November ballot. As of
Tuesday, he was 240 signatures short.
He is still collecting signatures on the sidewalk outside City Hall. A police officer once told him to leave the area, but City Attorney Gary Rebenstorf said Sumbles was within his rights as long as he didn't impede anyone from entering the building.
ing the building. The Postal Service has been tougher. Postal officials have called police on Sumbles three times. The third time, they told Sumbles he'd be arrested for criminal trespass if he comes back.
back.
Sumbles said he is puzzled with the post office's stance.
with the postmaster.
"It's a federal candidate going for a federal office, why can't you petition on federal land?" he said
same question in Washington D.C.
Several groups are asking the
The American Civil Liberties Union, the Initiative and Referendum Institute and several citizens' groups have sued to try to open postal sidewalks to more free-speech activity, said Arthur Spitzer, legal director in the ACLU's Washington office.
ACDU's washing at A trial earlier this year, a court allowed activities such as making speeches and passing out leaflets in front of post offices.
mets in front of posters.
But the trial court ruled against petitioning, agreeing with the Postal Service's argument that stopping people on the sidewalk disrupts the business of moving mail.
The ACLU and the other groups have appealed.
The U.S. attorney's office in Washington has asked that the
appeal be thrown out of court, arguing that, "The ability to carry out postal business successfully is beyond dispute a significant government interest."
Sumbles said elections are a significant government interest.
"I'm just trying to get an independent party onto the ballot," he said.
According to its Web site, the Constitution Party is "completely pro-life, anti-homosexual rights, pro-American sovereignty, antiglobalist, anti-free trade, antideindustrialization, ant-unchecked immigration, pro-second amendment, and against the constantly increasing expansion of unlawful police laws, in favor of a strong national defense and opposed to unconstitutional interventionism."
Finishing touches
Lindsay Mehrer (front), Kansas City, Mo., junior, and Beth Blau-fuss, Overland Park senior, mounted paper with images of typography in front of the Art and Design building yesterday. They were working on one of their last two final projects for their graphics class.
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