Earlier this year, the Maine legislature passed a bill that says if a party wants to let independent voters sign petitions to get candidates on that party’s primary ballot, the party must notify the state by December 31. As of December 18, none of Maine’s four qualified parties have filed the form.

It is especially important that the Green and Libertarian Parties file this paperwork. The number of signatures to get a candidate on a primary ballot is severe. The requirement is the same number of signatures for each party, regardless of how many registered voters that party has. For example, for statewide office, 2,000 signatures are required, which is impossibly difficult for a party like the Libertarian Party, which has fewer than 7,000 registered voters.

The primary petitions are so difficult for the Green Party that no Green has ever been able to get on a Green primary ballot for either house of Congress, and that is true for the Libertarian Party as well.

On December 16, the Washington, D.C. city council defeated a bill to postpone using ranked choice voting for a year. Voters voted for RCV in 2024, but some council members thought the Board of Elections isn’t ready to handle it. The bill was defeated 5-8, so the city will proceed to get ready for RCV. Its first use will be in partisan primaries in June 2026. It will also be used in November 2026.

RCV will probably make it easier for minor party candidates for citywide partisan office to poll 7,500 votes. New parties become ballot-qualified in D.C. if they have a nominee for any citywide city office, or Delegate to the U.S. House, who polls 7,500 votes.