Above, Garland ; Below, Lowery
Raymond L. Garland, January 9, 1939 (Amboy, Ill.) - October 17, 2019 (Sycamore, Ill.)
VP candidate for United Sovereign Citizens (aka Sovereign Citizens aka United Sovereign Party) (1984)
Running mate with nominee: Arthur James Lowery (1925-1999)
Popular vote: 825 (0.00%)
Electoral vote: 0/538
The campaign:
Arthur "Ajay" Lowery operated a tax protestor newspaper out of Clinton, Ark. called The Justice Times which railed against the IRS and called for a more Biblical foundation for government. He attempted to gain primary ballot access in Wisconsin as a member of the Constitution Party but was denied. His general election effort was undertaken as part of the United Sovereign Citizens.
His running mate Raymond L. Garland of Illinois was something of an anti-IRS celebrity du jour after being famously acquitted in a jury trial of tax crimes in 1983. What made this case remarkable was that non-lawyer Garland served as his own attorney.
Some quotes from Lowery shortly before the election:
The circus we have been watching the last nine months has exposed some of the greatest incompetence in our history, and that applies to both Mondale and Reagan ... People are searching for a real vote, particularly the youth of America. I spent a lot of time at the university in Jonesboro. It is amazing how they reacted when they realized I was neither a Republican nor a Democrat.
The question is not "where's the beef?" The question is who's the boss. We are the sovereigns under God. They've reversed the order of things. We must return to the principles that made this nation great.
We cannot avoid paying taxes but the Constitution prohibits the government from assessing a direct tax ... The IRS was breaking the law when they tricked the people to accept the withholding tax. Once Congress gives us the laws that are in accordance with the Constitution, then these 30 million people will come back and give their consent to be governed.
It is a pseudo, outlaw government we have today. No one can refute it. It is fact. It is there. It's like a runaway toboggan running down hill, and people have got to stop it.
Lowery produced a campaign spoken-word LP album entitled I Will Not Be Swayed on his Honor And Glory Records label. According to the liner notes it included entries like: "The IRS Has Become a Modern Day Gestapo," "Cut The Thievin' Hands Off The IRS," "Federal Debt Sky Rocketing," "America Arise," "Taxanity," "The Supreme Sovereignty of God," "Land of Liberty," and "Money Game." It can easily be found online [I try not to fill this blog with links because maintaining them would be too labor intensive and I rival The Dude for laziness]
Lowery told the press, "Independents like me will get far more votes than ever before. If I can get 10 percent of the votes in Arkansas, I can build a national constituency next election." But it didn't quite work out that way.
The Lowery/Garland ticket did manage to attain ballot status in one state-- Arkansas, where they placed dead last out of ten entries with 822 votes (0.09%). Three write-in votes were also recorded in Georgia. No doubt they earned other write-ins elsewhere but they were not recorded.
Election history: none
Other occupations: soldier (US Army), General Electric factory worker, management consultant, insurance salesman, entrepreneur, tax reform advocate, day care worker, lecturer
Buried: Mt. Carmel Cemetery (Sycamore, Ill.)
Notes:
Catholic
Cigar smoker and teller of corny Dad jokes (two traits I share, wish I could have interviewed him)
