On August 12, the Massachusetts Libertarian Party filed a request with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, that the Court accept the party’s lawsuit on whether the election law permits stand-in presidential and vice-presidential candidates on petitions. Everyone agrees that the election law permits stand-ins on petitions for other office (relative to independent candidates, and to the nominees of unqualified parties), but the law is not clear on whether stand-ins are permitted for President, Vice-President, and presidential elector. The case is Libertarian Assn. of Mass. v Galvin, sj2011-0348.

Earlier this year the First Circuit ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not requires states to permit stand-ins on candidate petitions, but the First Circuit also said that the law is unclear and a state court should construe the law. In some states, there is no need for stand-ins, because the petition doesn’t require any candidates to be named. But in other states, stand-ins are important, because otherwise minor parties must hold their presidential conventions very early in the season, so as to have enough time to petition. States that do permit presidential stand-ins include Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Massachusetts permitted it in past years, but arbitrarily refused to permit it in 2008 for the Libertarians, even though earlier the state had told the party that it would permit it that year.