On March 31, a Michigan Republican candidate for U.S. House, Eric Esshaki, filed a federal lawsuit to ease the Michigan primary petition requirements for candidates.  Since then, several other candidates have moved to intervene in the case.  Two, Matt Savich and Daniel Finley, are running for nonpartisan judicial posts.  Like Esshaki, they each need 1,000 signatures.

Also an independent candidate for president, Kyle Kopitke, who needs 12,000 signatures by July, asked to intervene.  And Whitney Williams, a Republican running for U.S. House, intevened on the side of the state, because she already obtained her signatures and doesn’t want another opponent.

The hearing was April 15. Here is a news story about the hearing.

On April 15, Congressman Justin Amash said he will soon decide whether to run for president.  See this story.  The story says that he stopped campaigning for re-election to Congress in February.

On April 15, the Montana Green Party filed notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit in Montana Green Party v Stapleton.  This is the 2018 case the party filed against the unequal distribution requirement for petitions to put parties on the ballot.  The unequal distribution requirement was upheld by the U.S. District Court last month, even though the U.S. Supreme Court had twice said unequal distribution requirements on statewide petitions violate “one person, one vote” and the Fourteenth Amendment.

The unequal distribution requirement was responsible for the party’s failing to get on the ballot in 2018.

Since then, the party has filed a new petition to get on the 2020 ballot, and the Secretary of State has said the 2020 petition is valid and complies with the distribution requirement.