On January 20, U.S. District Court Judge William Haynes set a trial date in two pending Tennessee ballot access cases. The trial date is Tuesday, February 23, 9 a.m., in Nashville. The trial combines the 2011 case that challenges the number of signatures needed for a newly-qualifying party, and the 2014 case on how a party remains on the ballot. The only undecided issue from the 2014 case is whether the ruling (which put the Constitution and Green Parties on the 2014 ballot) should also apply to put those two parties on the 2016 ballot.

The 2011 case over the number of signatures has been won twice in U.S. District Court, but each time the Sixth Circuit then said the case needs more evidence.