On September 3, U.S. District Court John M. Gallagher upheld the Pennsylvania law that requires a minimum number of write-ins in a partisan primary before the candidate can be nominated. Pugh v Berks County Board of Elections, e.d., 5:25cv-3267. The plaintiff, Brandon Pugh, was the only candidate for Mayor of lyons Borough from any party. No one appeared on the primary ballot of any party for this position, but Pugh received six write-ins. However, the law said he needed the same number of write-ins as the number of signatures he would have needed to get on the primary ballot. That number was only ten. The judge said the burden was not severe. However, now no one will appear on the November 2025 ballot, and a write-in candidate, either Pugh himself or someone else, can run. In the general election there will be no minimum number of write-ins needed to win.

On September 2, Jim Walden said he is suspending his campaign for Mayor of New York City, although he can’t get his name off the ballot. He is the candidate who sued for the right to have “independence” as his ballot label. Unfortunately, he lost that case.

On August 29, Cornel West filed this brief in Ortiz v North Carolina State Board of Elections, the ongoing ballot access lawsuit that started in 2024 when the State Board refused to certify his party for the ballot even though the county boards said he had enough valid signatures. The U.S. District Court put him and his party on the ballot. He is now attempting to get the U.S. District Court to rule that the Board violated the U.S. Constitution when it acted as it did.