Ballot access laws for U.S. House are harsher than they are for any other office. This is ironic, considering that the founding fathers expected the U.S. House to be the most democratic branch of the federal government.

In four states, it has been over fifty years since both the Republican and Democratic Parties ran a candidate in each district in that state. The four states, with the last year in which both major parties had a candidate in each district, are: Florida 1926; Louisiana 1902; Massachusetts 1950; and Texas 1964.

As to third parties, Massachusetts has the worst record. No party, other than the Republican and Democratic Parties, has run a full slate since 1890, when the Prohibition Party did so. Also, in Georgia and Texas, no third party has run a full slate since 1894, when the Peoples Party did so. In modern times the Texas Libertarian Party would have run a full slate, except that it always chose never to run against Ron Paul, so it has never run a full slate.

The case pending in U.S. District Court over whether the Michigan legislature violated the U.S. Constitution when it repealed the straight-ticket device is likely to be decided by a federal jury. The trial is set to begin February 6, 2018, at 9 a.m. Discovery must be completed by September 29, 2017. The case is Michigan State A. Philip Randolph Institute v Johnson, e.d., 2:16cv-11844.

On September 8, the plaintiffs in Wilding v Democratic National Committee Services filed an appeal to the Eleventh Circuit. This is the lawsuit in which Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016 who had contributed to the national Democratic Party had filed a class action lawsuit against the party. They charged that the party defrauded them because, even though its national rules pledged neutrality, in fact top officials of the party actively helped Hillary Clinton and worked against Bernie Sanders.

On August 25, the U.S. District Court in the southern district of Florida had dismissed the lawsuit, without allowing for a trial. Thanks to the Independent Voters Network for this news.