On November 2, Rocky De La Fuente filed a notice of appeal in De La Fuente v Padilla, c.d., 2:16cv-3242. The issue is the number of signatures needed for an independent presidential candidate in California. The lower court had said that it doesn’t matter how difficult the law is, because California has various minor parties on the ballot for president. This part of the decision is contradicted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion from 1974 in Storer v Brown. Storer v Brown said the political party approach to politics is entirely different than the independent candidate approach, and states must have constitutional procedures for both.

In 2020, if this lawsuit doesn’t win in the 9th circuit, or unless the legislature does something, the requirement will be approximately 200,000 signatures, which would be almost 40% of the number needed in the entire nation, for an independent candidate who uses the easier method in each state.