On April 9, the Alabama Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties filed this 9-page response brief in Stein v Chapman, 2:12cv-42. This is the case that challenges the March petition deadline for minor parties, at least as applied to presidential elections.
The South Dakota deadline for a party to submit its petition to be qualified was March 27. Both Americans Elect, and the Constitution Party, submitted petitions. The state hopes to have checked each petition within a week.
The Libertarian Party had turned in its petition several months ago, and its petition had been approved on February 28.
The Reform Party national presidential convention will be August 10-12 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The party is ballot-qualified in Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
New Mexico state courts are about to determine the fate of twelve Democratic and Republican Party candidates, whose ballot positions in the June primary are in jeopardy. See this story, which concerns mostly minor defects in petitions. Some of the candidates are incumbent legislators. UPDATE: see this story, which says a lower court on April 6 ruled against one Democrat, but the decision will be reviewed by the State Supreme Court on April 10.
Some years ago, a bill was introduced in the New Mexico legislature to let candidates onto primary ballots by fee instead of petition, but it did not pass.
Three Democrats seeking to run for Haddon Heights, New Jersey, council, have been forced to sue to get themselves on the June 5 primary ballot. A lower state court judge has put them on the ballot temporarily, and has asked elections officials to explain why the relief should not be permanent. The election official charged with receiving their paperwork says the documents were turned in fifteen minutes too late. The candidates dispute that and say in any event, the official wouldn’t accept the papers in a timely manner because she was taking a smoking break outside the office. See this story.
