North Dakota has the nation’s most restrictive ballot access law for minor party legislative candidates. No legislative candidate of a party other than the Republican and Democratic Parties has managed to get on the November ballot since 1976. The law requires that all qualified parties nominate by primary. At the primary, a legislative candidate must poll a large number of votes in the open primary. The numerical requirement is the same regardless of the party’s size.

But this year, he Libertarian Party will try to persuade enough primary voters to choose the Libertarian ballot in the 26th district, so that its candidate for State House, Mattie Richardson-Schmitz, can pass the vote test. See this story.