The chairman of the Libertarian Party of Marion County said on Facebook this week that he hopes his own party loses its ballot access in Indiana.
Stephen Whitmer posted the comment Tuesday, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Trump v. Barbara that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to restrict it. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion; Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
“At this point, I can’t wait for the Libertarians to lose ballot access,” Whitmer wrote. “They’re okay with third-world anchor babies wiping their asses with the Constitution.”
The Libertarian Party of Indiana is the only party other than the Democrats and Republicans that currently holds automatic ballot access in the state. Under Indiana law, a party retains that status by receiving at least 2% of the vote in a statewide race, historically the contest for Secretary of State. The Libertarian Party has maintained ballot access continuously since 1994. A party that falls below the threshold must gather tens of thousands of petition signatures to place its candidates on the ballot.
That status will next be tested in the November 2026 general election, when Secretary of State appears on the statewide ballot.
Whitmer ran for office twice as a Republican before becoming a Libertarian officer. He lost the 2023 Republican primary for Indianapolis City-County Council District 16, and in 2024 he ran as the Republican nominee against Democratic state Rep. Justin Moed in House District 97, losing 58% to 39%. Libertarian candidate Mark Renholzberger received about 3% of the vote in that race.
Evan McMahon, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, said he was aware of Whitmer’s post and that any decision about how to respond rests with the Marion County membership.
The county party’s bylaws set a high bar for that. An elected officer may be removed only by a two-thirds vote at a convention, a removal vote requires a quorum of fifteen members, and the chairman may not preside over his own removal. The bylaws also designate the chairman as the party’s official spokesperson. Whitmer’s current term runs through the party’s next scheduled officer election.
