On June 9, U.S. District Court Judge Karen Schreier issued a 16-page opinion in Libertarian Party of South Dakota v Krebs, 4:15cv-4111. It denies the state’s request for an opinion upholding the South Dakota petition deadline for new party petitions. That deadline is in late March.

South Dakota requires primaries for all parties, even new parties. The state defended the March deadline on the grounds that it takes time to prepare for a new party’s primary. However, the opinion says the state would be free to let newly-qualifying parties nominate by convention. This is especially obvious in South Dakota, because all parties in South Dakota, new and old, use conventions in the summer to nominate for certain state offices.