On July 11, independent legislative candidate Justin Tjaden filed a federal lawsuit against the Ohio ballot access law for independent candidates for district office. Tjaden v Geauga County Board of Elections, n.d., 1:24cv-1176. The plaintiff had tried to get on the ballot this year, but was told he didn’t have enough valid signatures. He originally sued in state court. He is an attorney and he is using the lawsuit to attack the idea that independent candidates need far more signatures than primary candidates running for the same office. See this story.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Solomon Oliver, a Clinton appointee.

Mississippi will elect its entire legislature in November 2025, even though all state legislators were also up for re-election in November 2023 and Mississippi provides for four-year terms for all its legislators, in both houses. On July 18, 2024, a 3-judge U.S. District Court issued a ruling in Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP v State Board of Election Commissioners, 3:22cv-734, s.d. The panel had already ruled on July 2 that the districts violate the federal Voting Rights Act. The July 18 ruling says the legislature need not redraw the districts immediately and need not hold legislative elections this year.

Recently Indiana county election officials finished validating the petition to place Jill Stein on the ballot as the Green Party nominee. They said only 40% of the signatures are valid, and therefore she is short 9,000 signatures. However the results are suspect, because Stein had the same paid circulators as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and he was told his validity rate was 60% and therefore sufficient.

Signers can sign multiple petitions for the same office in Indiana. The Green Party will try to do a re-validation process.

No Green Party presidential nominee has ever appeared on the Indiana ballot. 2024 is the first time the party have made a big effort in a statewide Indiana petition.