On August 4, a New Jersey trial court in Bergen County ruled that Thomas Madigan’s petition to be on the November 3, 2015 ballot is valid. He is running for Township Committee, Wyckoff Township. He needed 100 signatures and submitted 194. Two seats are up. One of the Republican candidates for the same office challenged his petition on several grounds: (1) that he signed as the circulator but didn’t actually witness some of the signatures; (2) that he can’t sign his own petition because he also signed a primary petition for someone who was running for the same office; (3) that some of his signatures are forged.

The judge ruled in favor of Madigan on all points. See this story.

On August 3, the Louisiana Republican Party filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging that the part of the McCain-Feingold Law of 2002 that limits individual campaign contributions to political parties is unconstitutional. The lawsuit only pertains to independent expenditures made by political parties.

Here is the Complaint. The case is Republican Party of Louisiana v Federal Election Commission, 1:15cv-1241.

Generally, all groups can receive unlimited donations if the money is used for independent expenditures. The only type of group for which that statement is not true is a political party. Before 2002, anyone could give as much money to a political party as he or she desired, whether the money was going for independent expenditures or coordinated expenditures.

Indiana cities elect officers in partisan elections on November 3, 2015. In Anderson, the Republican Party county chair has filed a challenge to the Libertarian slate. The challenge says the Libertarian Party didn’t have a valid nominating convention. See this story.

The Libertarian Party in Indiana nominates all its candidates by convention. The state law says primaries are reserved for qualified parties that polled 10% in the last election for Secretary of State.

In 2004, Ralph Nader was nominated for President by the Reform Party in a national convention conducted by conference call. Nader’s ballot position as the Reform Party nominee in Florida was then challenged in state court on the grounds that a national convention must be an in-person meeting. But the State Supreme Court rejected the challenge and Nader appeared on the Florida ballot as the Reform Party nominee.