Last year, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sued Illinois over some ballot access restrictions, while he was still an independent presidential candidate. His lawsuit, which challenges restrictions on who can circulate petitions, is still alive. The state has argued that it should be dismissed as moot.

On February 5, the attorney for Kennedy asked the U.S. District Court to take note of two recent opinions that came out since the Illinois case was argued. The two cases are the Bost decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that came out on January 14; and the Cornel West ballot access decision from North Carolina, which came out on January 23. See the filing here.