Al Hamburg is running for office in Wyoming, again. He has run many a time in many a party affiliation. But I learned something interesting about him this year: though he is eligible to run for office, he is unable to serve.
Back in 1989, in a U.S. House campaign with the New Alliance party he was charged with forging petition signatures of dead people. In Wyoming, if you run under a minor party ticket, you need so many signatures to get on the ballot. Hamburg's claim is that if he had won back in '89, the deceased ones would not have been harmed. The Wyoming Supreme Court correctly said if he had won, voters would have been defrauded. Due to a lack of evidence, part of the conviction was overturned, and in 2003, his voting rights were restored. However, he is still a convicted felon and thus, barred from public office.
In the 2002 gubernatorial race, Al Hamburg ran as a Libertarian, doubtlessly pulling votes from Republicans and Democrats. This year, he is running in the gubernatorial primary election as a Democrat against incumbent Gov. Dave Freudenthal. Hamburg has indicated that he would sue if he wins the primary election and is told that he cannot serve.
Source: Billings Gazette
