On August 28, the Georgia Libertarian Party filed its opening brief in Cowen v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:17cv-4660. This is the case against the Georgia law on how non-Republicans and non-Democrats get on the ballot for U.S. House. The case was filed in 2017 and the U.S. District Court upheld it in 2019. Then the Eleventh Circuit sent it back to the U.S. District Court and said to adjudicate the case based on the evidence. This brief summarizes that evidence, which is devastating to the state. The law was created in 1943 and in 77 years has never been used by a minor party candidate.

On August 27, a Washington state trial court ruled that if an individual signs more than one presidential petition, none of the signatures count. As a result, the Constitution, Alliance, and American Solidarity Parties are off the ballot for president. The case was Wyman v Alliance Party, Thurston County superior court.

In Connecticut, Georgia, and New York, ballot access relief due to the health crisis was granted, either by Governors or by courts. But the relief wasn’t enough in any of those three states to help any petitions for statewide office, for either minor parties or independents.

In Connecticut, the Governor had cut the number from 7,500 to 5,250, but no one submitted a statewide petition. The only statewide office in Connecticut this year is President. The only presidential candidates who will be on the ballot are from the four parties that were already ballot-qualified for that office: Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green.

In Georgia, the state legislature extended the petition deadline a month, and a U.S. District Court cut the presidential petition from 7,500 to 5,250, but neither improvement made any difference in statewide races. No statewide or U.S. House petition succeeded. The only presidential candidates who will be on are the nominees of the ballot-qualified Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Parties.

In New York, the Governor had cut the number from 30,000 to 15,000, but no statewide petition succeeded. There is no other statewide race in New York this year. The qualified parties are Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Green, Working Families, Libertarian, Independence, and SAM.