On January 27, a nonprofit group called “Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender” filed a lawsuit to overturn an Illinois law that won’t let a group use the word “Democrat” or “Democratic” unless it gets permission from the party’s state central committee. DIAG vGiannoulias, n.d., 1:26cv-894. So far the group has registered in 40 other states and has had no problem with its name.
Here is the Complaint. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Steven C. Seeger, a Trump appointee.

The Arizona Independent Party has recruited Hugh Lytle to run for Governor. He says he will run even if the party loses the lawsuit over its name. If the party loses the lawsuit, the party would be named No Labels. See this story.

On January 27, attorneys for Cornel West (independent presidential candidate in 2024) and the Pennsylvania state elections office jointly asked a U.S. District Court for a two-month extension of the discovery deadline. The filing says that the two sides are engaged in settlement talks.

The issue in the case is the state policy that says each candidate for presidential elector (for petitioning candidates, i.e., independent and minor party tickets) must file a signed and notarized declaration of candidacy. In contrast, presidential elector candidates for fully-qualified parties need not file any paperwork. Instead their parties simply submit a list of their presidential elector candidates.

It is possible the settlement will result in a new policy, one in which the paperwork from each candidate for presidential elector is no longer required. The judge in this case already ruled against the state, when the state had asked that the case be dismissed without any evidence-gathering. West v Pennsylvania Department of State, w.d., 2:24cv-1349.