On October 16, the Massachusetts Secretary of State filed notice of appeal in Barr v Galvan, the case over whether the U.S. Constitution requires states to let unqualified parties use stand-in presidential candidates on their ballot access petitions. The Libertarian Party had won this case in the U.S. District Court last month.

The law in Massachusetts is ambiguous about whether such substitution is permitted. Over the years, the Massachusetts Secretary of State has given conflicting rulings on whether it is permitted or not. The state’s position seems to be that substitution is permitted for minor parties that don’t choose their presidential nominees until July or August of the election year, but that it is not permitted for parties that have a national presidential convention in May or in earlier months. The Libertarian Party national convention is usually on the last weekend of May in presidential election years.