On April 4, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris held a 3-hour trial in Breck v Stapleton, 9:17cv-36. The issue is the Montana ballot access law for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, in the 2017 special election for U.S. House. The election was called on March 1, and the Secretary of State said anyone who wanted to run in that election, who was not the nominee of a qualified party, needs 14,268 signatures by March 3. Later he changed the deadline to March 6. Such candidates also must pay a filing fee of $1,740. The plaintiffs argue that it is not reasonable to expect anyone to collect so many signatures in such a short time.

Here is a brief newspaper article about the hearing. The decision will come out very soon, perhaps on Wednesday, April 5. The plaintiffs include one independent candidate, and the nominee of the Green Party, which is not ballot-qualified in Montana. The only three qualified parties are Republican, Democratic and Libertarian, and they all have nominees, none of whom needed any signatures.