Mark M. Noble

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

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

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.

In 2006, Noble ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio on the Libertarian ticket with Bill Peirce, the party's nomination for governor. 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.

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.

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."

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.

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. 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.

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.