On July 26, the Working Families Party of South Carolina filed a federal lawsuit, to win the ability to nominate candidates this year. The legal deadline for a new party to turn in its petition (to be able to participate in that year’s election) is 6 months before the general election. The Working Families Party complied with that deadline. However, the state still won’t let it nominate any candidates because it says the petition should have been turned in earlier. The Natural Law Party won a similar lawsuit in South Carolina in 1996, but the state won’t follow that precedent. The case is Working Families Party v South Carolina Election Commission, 3:06-cv-2125.