On May 24, U.S. District Court Judge David G. Campbell, a Bush Jr. appointee, heard Libertarian Party of Arizona v Reagan, 2:16cv-1019. The issue is the new law that sharply increases the number of signatures needed for Libertarian candidates to get on their own party’s primary ballot. For technical reasons, the new law does not affect the ability of Green Party candidates to get on the Green Party primary ballot.

The Libertarian Party is asking for emergency injunctive relief, because the deadline for primary petitions is June 1. However, it is possible that the judge could provide relief, not on the number of signatures needed to get on the primary ballot, but relief on the number of write-ins in the primary needed to be nominated. The primary is in late August. The law that increased the number of signatures to get on the primary ballot also increased the number of write-ins in the primary to be deemed nominated.