Last year, a U.S. District Court in Arkansas enjoined the new 3% petition requirement for newly-qualifying parties, and put the Arkansas Libertarian Party on the ballot for 2020. On June 18, the Eighth Circuit ruled that the U.S. District Court Judge was correct. Libertarian Party of Arkansas v Thurston, 19-2503.

The Eighth Circuit decision is here. It is written by Judge Michael Melloy, a Bush Jr. appointee; and is signed by Judges Ralph Erickson and Jonathan Kobes, Trump appointees. The opinion says that while is is conceivable that the 3% petition by itself could be held constitutional, in connection with the extremely early deadline, is is not constitutional. The deadline is an entire year before the election. The opinion applies strict scrutiny because the burden is severe.

As reported previously, on April 23, a U.S. District Court ordered Illinois to provide ballot access relief to minor party and independent candidates. On June 8, Illinois officials appealed that decision, and asked that their appeal be expedited. The Seventh Circuit did not explicitly deny that request for expedited hearing, but it did set a briefing schedule that implicitly denies it. The plaintiffs need not file their response until July 15.

On June 15, leaders of the Ohio Green Party, and two of the Green Party candidates for the presidential nomination of the party, filed this brief in the Ohio Green ballot access case, Hawkins v DeWine, s.d., 2:20cv-2781. The state is trying to have the case dismissed because the Sixth Circuit had denied ballot access relief for Ohio initiatives in Thompson v DeWine. The plaintiffs argue that Thompson v DeWine was wrongly decided, rather than distinguishing between initiative ballot access and minor party/independent candidate ballot access.

Thompson v DeWine is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.