The Iowa Libertarian Party has a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, challenging the 2019 action by the Iowa legislature that moved the petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from August to March. That case is Iowa Libertarian Party v Pate, s.d., 4:19cv-241.
On April 20, the Libertarian Party informed the U.S. District Court in Iowa of the March 29, 2021 decision of the Sixth Circuit in Graveline v Benson. In the Graveline case, the Sixth Circuit struck down Michigan’s independent petition procedure. Part of the reason was that the deadline was in July, but the qualified parties didn’t nominate until August.
The Iowa situation is even worse than the Michigan situation had been. In Iowa, the major parties nominate in June, and yet the March deadline for unqualified parties means the unqualified parties must nominate even earlier than March, to give themselves time to complete their candidate petitions.
A decision in Iowa could come at any time. Iowa is not in the Sixth Circuit but the Graveline case should still be influential. Iowa is in the Eighth Circuit.
So long as duopoly politicians control the ballot, the censorship game they play is a farce and a tragedy. They can use taxpayers’ money to move their detour signs endlessly to block competition.
All ballot access laws are censorship and must be abolished if voters are regain a “modicum” of control over government.