On April 11, a Massachusetts state court heard arguments in the case over whether Mark Fisher really received enough votes at the Republican Party state convention to qualify to petition for the primary ballot. See this story. Massachusetts election law says any qualified party member may petition for a place on a party primary ballot. But Republican Party rules, as well as Democratic Party rules, say no one may petition unless the individual received at least 15% of the vote at the state convention. Fisher received over 15% at the Republican convention last month if one doesn’t count blank votes, but he only received 14.765% if blanks votes are included. The Republican Party takes the position that Fisher did not qualify.

A decision is likely during the coming week, according to the news story. Even if Fisher wins the lawsuit, he will then still need 10,000 signatures of registered independents and registered Republicans in order to get on the September 9 primary ballot.