On January 10, Marianne Williamson dropped out of the Democratic Party presidential race. See this story.
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Law Professor Derek Muller has this op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. He points out that the combination of the California top-two system, plus the March primary for Congress, results in a system in which no one can run for Congress in November 2020 who has not filed a declaration of candidacy by December 11, 2019. So, even though unexpected events may occur after December 2019 and before November 2020, no new candidates may enter. This system is virtually unique in the nation. Other states have March congressional primaries, but later filing deadlines for independent candidates, but in California, even independents had to file in December 2019.
On January 9, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a short order, saying Rocky De La Fuente’s lawsuit against the law that gives parties complete control over which candidates get on their presidential primary ballot, lacks merit. The order does not give any reasoning, but says a full opinion will follow shortly.
On January 8, U.S. District Court Judge William O. Bertelsman, a Carter appointee, ruled from the bench after oral argument in Sweeney v Crigler, e.d., 2:19cv-46. He ruled that Kentucky’s law requiring independent and minor party candidates for state office to file a declaration of candidacy in January of election years violates the U.S. Constitution. The order will be in writing on January 10. This is a Libertarian Party case.
Republican and Democratic candidates must file a declaration of candidacy in January, but that is clearly necessary, because their primary is in May. But minor parties (parties that polled less than 20% for president) nominate by convention, so there is no rational need for a declaration of candidacy for them.
On January 9, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard oral argument in De La Fuente v Simon, A19-1994. Here is a news story about the hearing. The article doesn’t make it easy to predict how the court will rule. The issue is whether it violates the State Constitution to give a political party complete control over who may appear on its presidential primary ballot.
One can argue that freedom of association for political parties is satisfied by the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled three times that national presidential conventions can refuse to seat delegates if the state party that sent those delegates did not conform to national party rules. Also the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. circuit ruled in LaRouche v Fowler in 1996 that the Democratic Party national convention was free to refuse to seat elected delegates pledged to Lyndon LaRouche.