Mark M. Noble

Mark Michael Noble (born July 3, 1976) is a computer engineer and Libertarian Party politician in Ohio.

For the English soccer player, see Mark Noble.
Mark M. Noble
Libertarian Party nominee for
Ohio House of Representatives, 24th District
Opponent(s)Stephanie Kunze, Kathy Hoff
IncumbentStephanie Kunze
Personal details
Born (1976-07-03) July 3, 1976
Columbus, Ohio
Political partyLibertarian Party
Spouse(s)Loretta Noble
ResidenceColumbus, Ohio
Alma materThe Ohio State University
Professioncomputer engineer
WebsiteNOBLEforOHIO.com

Early life and education

Noble was born in Columbus, Ohio. He is a graduate of Ohio State University.

Political career

In 2014, Noble ran for the Ohio House of Representatives finishing with 5.08% of the vote. In 2011, he ran for the Columbus City Council with 18.09% of the vote. In 2010, he ran for the Ohio House of Representatives finishing with about 3% of the vote.

In 2008, Noble ran for U.S. Representative for Ohio's 15th congressional district. Noble successfully challenged Ohio's ballot access laws, which the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled unconstitutional, and qualified for the ballot. He finished third with 4.6 percent of the vote.[1]

In 2006, Noble ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on the Libertarian ticket with Bill Peirce, the party's nomination for governor.[2] Peirce and Noble finished third with 67,596 votes, 1.8 percent of the total vote behind winner Ted Strickland, the Democratic nominee, and runner-up Ken Blackwell, the Republican nominee, and ahead of Green Party candidate, Bob Fitrakis.

Noble was elected the chairman of the Franklin County Libertarian Party in 2006 and re-elected in 2008. He remains active within the party as a volunteer.

His campaign for gun rights garnered him national publicity in 2007, including coverage of the Empty Holster Protest by Fox News.[3]

Previously, Noble has campaigned on platforms including policies of reduced regulation, lower taxes, personal responsibility, reform of eminent domain abuse, parental choice, and an adherence to the Constitution and Bill of Rights.[4]

Constitutional challenge

Following a successful challenge to the unconstitutional ballot access laws with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in 2008, Noble was able to officially mount his candidacy for House of Representatives, Ohio's 15th district.

On 6 June 2008, the Libertarian Party of Ohio, by application of Mark Noble and several Libertarian Party of Ohio colleagues (Kevin Knedler, Bob Barr, Wayne Root, and Margaret Leech) as plaintiffs, filed a suit (Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Brunner) against Ohio Secretary of State claiming that the Secretary of State's refusal to give the Libertarian Party of Ohio access to the November 2008 general electoral ballot deprived the "plaintiffs of speech, voting and associational rights secured by the First and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States."[5]

On 21 August 2008, the court found in favor, granting an order for the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction.

This case established that the Ohio Secretary of State's Directive 2007-09 for the placement of minor party candidates on the state election ballot was unconstitutional.[6][7]

Victory in this case required the Ohio Secretary of State to list minor party political candidates with party affiliation on the ballot without the strict petitioning requirements of major parties. In the 2008 presidential election this resulted in eight candidates on the ballot for president representing six political parties (along with two independents).

The importance of this case lies in establishing ballot access for all candidates, regardless of party affiliation (and in particular, without favor to the 'big two'). Because each state establishes its own laws on how a candidate may be listed on the ballot, ballot access laws can be regarded as a significant impediment to the open process of democracy.[8] Given Noble's Libertarian focus on constitutionality, the challenge to the Ohio ballot access regulations represents a major ideological event for the Libertarian Party, as well as a practical matter for third-party candidates in Ohio elections.[9]

As a result of the win, the Libertarian Party was allowed on the ballot in Ohio, with party brand. This was only the third time in the history of the Libertarian Party of Ohio that party brand has been on the ballot line.[10]

Electoral history
Election results[11]
Year Office Election Subject Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes %
2006 Lieutenant Governor of Ohio General Mark Noble Libertarian 71,473 1.78% Lee Fisher Democratic 2,435,505 60.54% Tom Raga Republican 1,474,331 54.04% Anita Rios Green 40,967 1.02%
2008 U.S. House of Representatives General Mark Noble Libertarian 14,061 4.63% Mary Jo Kilroy Democratic 139,584 45.94% Steve Stivers Republican 137,272 45.18% Don Eckhart Independent 12,915 4.25%
2010 Ohio House of Representatives General Mark Noble Libertarian 1,485 3.00% John Patrick Carney Democratic 25,489 51.54% Angel Rhodes Republican 21,761 44.01% Corey Ansel Green 716 1.45%
2011 Columbus City Council General Mark Noble Libertarian 33,979 18.09% Michelle M. Mills Democratic 93,448 49.76% Andrew J. Ginther Democratic 87,571 46.63% Zach M. Klein Democratic 82,380 43.86% Hearcel F. Craig Democratic 73,159 38.95% Matt Ferris Republican 56,803 30.24% Daryl Hennessy Republican 54,409 28.97% Robert F. Bridges, Jr. Libertarian 24,280 12.93%
2014 Ohio House of Representatives General Mark Noble Libertarian 2,032 5.08% Stephanie Kunze Republican 22,874 57.24% Kathy Hoff Democratic 15,058 37.68%

References
  1. Niquette, Mark (2008-07-24). "Brunner eases paper-ballot policy". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. Weagraff, Joe (2006-03-01). "Student runs for Lt. governor". The Lantern. Archived from the original on 2011-08-06. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  3. "Video: Guns on Campus". FoxNews.com. 2004-06-14. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  4. "Buckeye Firearms Assoc. volunteer named as candidate for Lt. Gov". Buckeye Firearms Association web site. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  5. "Libertarian Party of Ohio v. Brunner". Election Law @Moritz: Information and insight into the laws governing federal, state, and local elections. 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  6. Mark Brown, "BRIEF FOR APPELLEES: DARDENNE, Appellant, VS. LIBERTARIAN PARTY, et al., Appellees. (Case No. 08-30922)" (PDF), Ballot Access News, pp. 36–8, retrieved 2011-03-03
  7. Jennifer Brunner, Ohio Secretary of State, "Advisory 2008-17 (Letter re) Federal court order granting ballot access and party designation to Libertarian Party of Ohio candidates" (PDF), website of the Secretary of State of Ohio, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-02, retrieved 2011-03-03
  8. Richard Winger (1999). "BALLOT ACCESS: A Formidable Barrier to Fair Participation". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on 2000-04-13. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  9. Libertarian Party of Ohio (2008-07-17). "Libertarian Party wins ballot access in Ohio". Libertarian Party of Ohio website (Press release). Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  10. Libertarian Party of Ohio (2011). "History of the Libertarian Party". Libertarian Party of Ohio website. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  11. "Election Results". Ohio Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
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