On June 17, the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties asked U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel to put them on the November ballot with no further need for any legal briefs. Last month Judge Stengel had deferred to the 3rd Circuit on whether to grant such relief. His rationale was that the 3rd Circuit was still deliberating whether or not he had been correct when he struck down the Pennsylvania ballot access scheme. But then, on June 2, the 3rd Circuit had affirmed Judge Stengel’s earlier decision on the constitutional issue.

The brief outlines all the instances in the past when courts have put minor parties or independent candidates on the ballot without a petition, after various ballot access restrictions had been struck down. Even if you don’t normally read legal briefs, consider reading this one, especially the second half. The brief is twenty pages, followed by a short proposed order.

The Oregonian, daily newspaper in Portland, has this article by Sal Peralta, a leader of the Independent Party. The second half of this article discusses the party’s plans to create a national coalition of one-state independent parties.

On June 17, just hours before the Arizona Green Party was set to file a lawsuit to get its presidential nominee on the November 2016 Arizona ballot, the Secretary of State asked for talks with the party’s attorney. It is likely the state will allow the presidential nominee of the Green Party to be on the ballot, even though the party didn’t submit the names of its presidential elector candidates by June 1.

The same problem happened in 1996 to the Arizona Libertarian Party, and in August 1996 the Libertarian Party won a lawsuit that put its presidential nominee, Harry Browne, on the November ballot. There really is no need for parties in Arizona to submit their presidential elector candidates so early in the year. Independent presidential candidates in Arizona don’t need to file the names of their presdential elector candidates until September.