The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) is holding its annual Board meeting in New York city on March 2, at 1 pm. COFOE is a loose coalition of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, and other nationally-organized groups that agree with COFOE’s goals of easing ballot access laws and improving the climate for minor parties and independent candidates in other areas, such as debates.

Several lawsuits against repressive ballot access laws are likely to be filed in February and March, some of them with financial support from COFOE, others not. They include a lawsuit to be filed against the Ohio law that bans circulators for independent candidates unless the circulators are registered voters in Ohio; a lawsuit against Illinois law on the number of signatures for unqualified parties and independent candidates for US House; a similar lawsuit for independent candidates for US House in North Carolina; a similar lawsuit for independent candidates for US House in Alabama; a lawsuit against New Hampshire’s refusal to permit presidential substitution; and a lawsuit against the new March petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than president) in Montana.