On April 17, four organizations filed a single amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, in Libertarian Party of New York v New York State Board of Elections, 22-893. The amicus is on the side of the parties that filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit concerns the 2020 changes to New York ballot access laws. The changes tripled the number of signatures for statewide independents and the nominees of unqualified parties. They increased the distribution requirement. They did not relax the six-week petitioning period. Finally, the changes stiffened the definition of a qualified party from a group that polled 50,000 votes for Governor, to one that polled 2% for the office at the top of the ballot every two years (president in presidential years and governor in gubernatorial years).

The four organizations are the Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE), the Forward Party, Open Primaries, and the Rainey Center. Here is the brief. It is only 16 pages; I hope readers will read it. It makes the point that some of the most important third parties in U.S. history were one-state parties that had no desire to run a presidential nominee.