On September 24, U.S. District Court Judge Bernard Friedman refused to order Michigan to let David Swartout have the label “independent” on the November ballot. Swartout is an independent candidate for U.S. House, but state law forces him to have the label “No party affiliation” instead of “independent.” Swartout v Johnson, eastern district, 2:14cv-12768.

It would have been surprising if Swartout had received injunctive relief, because Michigan has already printed its ballots. So far, Swartout hasn’t presented evidence that he is harmed, but it may still be possible for him to introduce such evidence. A study conducted by Ballot Access News, and printed in the August 1, 2013 issue, shows that independent candidates in 2012 who were in two-candidate races, and who had the label “independent” polled an average vote of 33.23%. But independent candidates in 2012 in two-candidate races who had less appealing labels polled an average of 30.21%. Similarly, the median showing for independent candidates with “independent” was 31.94%, but the median for independents without that label was only 28.79%. The study covered all 106 independent candidates for federal and state office who ran in 2012 in two-candidate races.

The Eleventh Circuit will hear Stein v Bennett, 13-15556, on Friday, November 21, in Montgomery, Alabama. The issue is Alabama’s March petition deadline for newly-qualifying party petitions, in presidential election years. The plaintiffs include the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties, and some of their candidates and officers.

According to this story, after the November 2014 election, the Arizona Republican Party will study whether to seek a closed primary for itself. Under Arizona law, all parties with primaries must let independents into their primary. According to the story, 21% of the votes cast in the 2014 Republican primary were cast by independent voters.