On March 30, the Kentucky Secretary of State asked the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear Libertarian Party of Kentucky v Grimes, 16-1034. Here is the state’s brief. The issue is Kentucky’s restrictive method on how unqualified parties may become qualified. Kentucky is one of only two states in which it impossible for a party to become ballot-qualified unless it makes a certain showing in a presidential race. The other such state is Washington.

The state’s brief makes much out of the fact that after the lawsuit had been filed, the Kentucky Libertarian Party became ballot-qualified in November 2016, by the vote for Gary Johnson. However, ballot access cases, especially at the U.S. Supreme Court level, do not hinge on developments that occurred after the case was filed. The Court knows that the issue will recur for all current and future new and minor parties.

The Court has not yet set a conference date for this case. New U.S. Supreme Court member Neil Gorsuch will be working on the court by the time the Court holds a conference on this case and decides whether to hear it.