On April 8, U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Helen Adams issued a ten-page opinion in Libertarian Party of Iowa v Pate, s.d., 4:19cv-241. She had issued a text order on March 31, saying the March petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties is unconstitutional, and that an opinion explaining that would be issued soon. She has now issued it.

The deadline was in August, until 2019, when the legislature moved it to March for all office except president. The opinion says that there was no problem for election administration back when the deadline was in August, and that the deadline harms unqualified parties by forcing them to have chosen all their non-presidential nominees by March, whereas the qualified parties don’t choose their nominees until the June primary.