Although the North Carolina legislature in 2017 made some huge improvements to ballot access for newly-qualifying parties, the ballot access laws relating to independent candidate are still faulty. Last year, a lawsuit was filed in federal court against some of those laws. Leifert v Strach, m.d., 1:17cv-147.

On April 20, a status conference was held. By April 27, both sides must jointly file a report setting out which issues in the case still need to be adjudicated.

The most glaring faults in the North Carolina law for independent candidates are: (1) the petition deadline for independent candidates, including presidential independent candidates, was moved from June to April early in 2017; (2) the number of signatures for a statewide independent is far in excess of the number needed for a new party.

Precedents from North Carolina federal court decisions already make it clear that both characteristics are unconstitutional. In DeLaney v Bartlett, in 2004, a U.S. District Court said that North Carolina could not require more signatures for a statewide independent than for an entire new party. And in Greaves v North Carolina State Board of Elections, in 1980, a U.S. District Court said that April is too early for independent candidate petition deadlines.