As already noted, attorneys for the state of Georgia recently asked the full Eleventh Circuit to rehear the original panel’s decision. The original panel had voted on February 1, 2017, that Georgia may not require approximately 50,000 signatures for an independent presidential candidate, or the presidential nominee of an unqualified party.
Here is the state’s request for rehearing. The brief lays great emphasis on the fact that the Libertarian Party has been on the ballot for president in Georgia starting in 1988. But when the Libertarian Party last had to petition, in 1988, the Georgia requirement was 25,759, not 50,000, so that point is weak. The other point the state makes in its petition for rehearing is that the plaintiffs, the Green Party and the Constitution Party, lack voter support within Georgia. The evidence for that is that they both failed to get the court-ordered 7,500 requirement last year. But all that shows is that even a much smaller petition is a big burden in Georgia. That is partly because the state’s petition-checking procedures are so arbitrary. Each county has its own standards. Evidence of that is shown that Rocky De La Fuente, an independent presidential candidate last year, submitted 15,000 signatures, but he was told only 20% of his signatures were valid.
