Linda Jenness (born January 11, 1941) is a former Socialist Workers Party (SWP) candidate for president of the United States. She was the party's nominee in the 1972 election. She finished fourth in the general election, with 83,380 votes to 47,169,911 for the winner, Richard Nixon.

Biography

Jenness was the SWP nominee for governor of Georgia in 1970. She did not get on the ballot because she could not collect the required 88,175 signatures. Jenness, the SWP, and two congressional candidates of the party brought a lawsuit, Jenness v. Fortson, 403 U.S. 431 (1971), regarding Georgia's ballot access standards, a case an SWP supporter has said "continues to haunt the jurisprudence of ballot access law" (Raskin 2003, page 103). Jenness was also involved in the case 26 F.C.C.2d 485 (1970), regarding media coverage of third-party candidates. In 1972, Jenness, vice-presidential nominee Andrew Pulley, and People's Party nominees Benjamin Spock and Julius Hobson wrote to Major General Bert A. David, commanding officer of Fort Dix in New Jersey, asking for permission to distribute campaign literature and hold an election-related campaign meeting. Based on Fort Dix regulations 210–26 and 210–27, David refused the request. The case made its way to the United States Supreme Court (424 U.S. 828—Greer, Commander, Fort Dix Military Reservation, et al., v. Spock et al.), which ruled against the plaintiffs. Aged 31 at time of the election, Jenness did not meet the Constitutional age requirement for the presidency, but the SWP was on the ballot in 25 states—six more than in 1968. She qualified for the Ohio ballot but was removed when she could not prove she was 35. As of 2010, Jenness was still an active supporter of the SWP. She is also a feminist. In the April 27, 1973, issue of The Militant, she wrote that feminism "is where women are out fighting for things that are in their interest. Feminism is wherever women are challenging the traditional roles assigned to them."

Books

Jenness has authored several books and pamphlets, or provided introductions. Some of these are: