On August 9, Rocky De La Fuente filed a brief in his case against the California requirement that an independent presidential candidate submit 178,039 signatures to get on the ballot. De La Fuente v Padilla, c.d., 2:16cv-3242. No other candidate, except a presidential candidate, ever needs more than 65 signatures to get on a California ballot for partisan office. No one has complied with the California statewide independent petition requirement since 1992. De La Fuente is the first independent presidential candidate in California history to sue against the independent presidential petition, which has been in the law since 1976.

Benton County, Oregon voters will probably see an initiative on their ballot in November to use instant-off voting for county office elections. See this story. One of the activists responsible for getting the idea on the ballot is Blair Bobier, a long-time Green Party activist. Thanks to Rob Richie for the link. Oregon elections for county office are non-partisan.

On August 10, Rocky De La Fuente and Jill Stein filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma requirement that independent presidential candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, file a petition with 40,047 valid signatures by July 15. The Complaint points out that the state irrationally requires more signatures for just a single candidate than for an entire new party. New parties this year needed 24,745 signatures. The Complaint also charges that the deadline is unconstitutionally early. De La Fuente v Ziriaz, w.d., cv-16-914.