Last year, the Justice Party filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii deadline for newly-qualifying parties. That deadline is in February of the election year. The case is Justice Party v Nago, U.S. District Court, 1:12cv-403. Hawaii is considering whether to re-interpret its law on independent presidential candidate ballot access so that the procedure also includes new political parties. The petition deadline for independent presidential candidates is quite late (early September of the election year).

If the Hawaii law on independent presidential candidates were interpreted to apply equally to the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, that would moot the case. The purpose of the Justice Party’s lawsuit was to get its presidential nominee on the ballot (with the party label), not nominees for other office. If Hawaii does re-interpret its law, then in future presidential elections, new or previously unqualified parties would then be able to place their presidential nominees, with the party label, on the ballot, with a petition that has a deadline in the later summer of election laws.