On March 19, the Ohio Libertarian Party asked the Ohio Supreme Court to let it intervene in the Democratic Party’s lawsuit over the timing of the Ohio primary. The Ohio Libertarian Party is ballot-qualified and has its own primary. That primary had been set for March 17, but the Secretary of State ordered polls not to open and then said the primary would be rescheduled for June.

The Ohio Libertarian brief points out that in 2008, a U.S. District Court in Ohio ruled that the Secretary of State did not have the power to re-write the state’s ballot access laws, at least concerning federal elections. The U.S. Constitution says state legislatures had to write such laws. The Ohio Libertarian brief also points out that the Ohio legislature has not delegated the power to set primary dates to the Secretary of State.

The case is State ex rel Ohio Democratic Party v LaRose, 2020-0388.