July 19 is the Michigan deadline for independent candidate petitions. Christopher Graveline, a well-qualified independent candidate for Attorney General, brought about 18,000 signatures into the office, but his filing was rejected because it was below the required 30,000 signatures. See this earlier article about Graveline.

No independent candidate for any statewide office in Michigan has ever successfully petitioned, except for Ross Perot in 1992 and Ralph Nader in 2004. The state did not even have statutory procedures for independent candidates until 1988.

It is possible Graveline will file a lawsuit to overturn the ballot access law. Courts have been virtually unanimous that independent candidate petition deadlines can’t be earlier than the date of the primary, and Michigan’s primary is August 7.

Other states this year in which highly-qualified independent candidates for statewide office have tried and failed to get on the ballot are Arizona, Indiana, and Texas.

On July 18, the California Supreme Court removed Proposition 9 from the ballot. This is the initiative to split California into three states. See this story.

New Mexico election law generally requires all candidates for Congress and state office to file petitions, to get on the ballot, no matter how they are running. Candidates need petitions to get on a primary ballot; minor party nominees (who are nominated by convention) need petitions; independent candidates need petitions.

But for county office, there is no petition requirement for candidates seeking to get on a primary ballot. However, minor party nominees and independent candidates do need petitions, and the independent petition, 3% of the last gubernatorial vote, is severe.

On July 18, Carol Miller, an independent candidate for Rio Arriba County Commission, filed a lawsuit in state court, arguing that the New Mexico Constitution does not permit the state to require petitions for independent candidates, while not requiring them for major party members. Miller v Padilla, District Court, 6th district, Santa Fe. The case has a hearing on Monday, July 23, at 10 a.m. The New Mexico Constitution says, “Elections shall be free and equal.” The case is based on the State Constitution. UPDATE: here is a news story about the lawsuit.