Minnesota election law requires qualified parties to file their presidential elector candidates, and an equal number of alternates, by August 29. The Republican Party has complied with this law. However, when it first nominated presidential elector candidates earlier this year, it forgot it was supposed to also nominate alternates. See this story.

When the party realized this, it called a meeting of the state committee, nominated alternates, and forwarded them to the Secretary of State by the legal deadline. However, the meeting that was called to choose alternates was in violation of the party bylaws, which say a 10-day notice is required for meetings. The party ignored that bylaw because of the time emergency. Thanks to Jeff Becker for the link.

On August 25, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough, an Obama appointee, enjoined the Illinois petition requirement for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, for U.S. House, at least as applied to candidates who make a very substantial effort. The 26-page decision puts David Gill on the ballot. He is an independent candidate in the 13th district. He submitted over 11,000 signatures to meet a requirement of 10,754, but was found to have 8,593 valid.

The opinion relies on the historical record showing it is extremely rare for any petitioning candidate for U.S. House to ever overcome a petition requirement greater than 10,754. UPDATE: here is the most comprehensive newspaper story about the decision, in the State Journal-Register, the Springfield daily newspaper.

On August 23, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled that a statewide initiative for marijuana legalization cannot qualify for the ballot, even though it almost certainly has enough valid signatures. Not all of the signatures were collected inside the 180-day window. See this story.

The Michigan Court of Claims is a branch of the state Appeals Court. Proponents of the initiative will appeal to the State Supreme Court. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.