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The Candidate Formerly Known as Marvin Richardson

Posted By | March 26, 2008




Prince2 Marvin Richardson is Pro-Life. Yes, he's pro-life, but he's also Pro-Life. Richardson officially changed his name to "Pro-Life" last year.

Now the Idaho berry farmer is running for U.S. Senate as an independent. Idaho lawmakers fear that the name will cause confusion on the ballot, leading some voters who are pro-life to vote twice -- for Pro-Life and their preferred candidate.

So, the secretary of state proposed legislation to create a "Prince" rule. The bill would require that any candidate who changed his or her name to convey a political message appear on the ballot with a parenthetical statement after the name: " A person, formerly known as [their old name]."

The State Senate unanimously passed the bill this week, so it sounds like this rule will go into effect in time for this year's elections. But I wonder how Idaho would treat people with birth names that sound like slogans, such as my imaginary cousin: Avery Goodman.



 


Josh Goodman
Josh Goodman

Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..

E-mail: mailbox@governing.com
Twitter: @governing

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