In 2009, the Nebraska legislature passed a law requiring petitions to say in red letters whether the circulator is being paid or is volunteering.  On September 24, a state court put an independent candidate on the ballot, even though the petition lacked that language.  See this story.  The candidate, an independent candidate running for Saunders County Attorney, had submitted an awesome 3,150 signatures, an amazing feat in a county that has a population of only 19,830.  The judge said disqualifying the petition would have disenfranchised the voters, because if Cook had not been able to get on the ballot, only one candidate, the incumbent Republican, would have appeared on the ballot.

The constitutionality of the law, requiring the petition to say if the circulator is paid or not, is currently being litigated in U.S. District Court in Nebraska.

There are substantially more independent candidates for state legislature on ballots around the nation this year than in past years.  There are 304 independent candidates for the legislature on ballots in the 45 states that are holding partisan legislative elections this year.  By contrast, there were 183 in 2008, 148 in 2006, 160 in 2004, and 188 in 2002.

This tally does not include minor party candidates.  There are 611 minor party candidates for the legislature on state ballots this year.

In 36.1% of all state legislative elections this year, there is either no Republican nominee, or no Democratic nominee.  This lack of competition from the major parties is normal for U.S. state legislative elections.

Guam is having trouble with its election for Delegate to Congress this year, because it still hasn’t mailed its overseas absentee ballots.  However, there is only one candidate on the ballot for that office, although Guam does have write-in space on ballots.  See this story.

The federal law that tells states and other jurisdictions that they must mail their overseas absentee ballots at least 45 days before the election only relates to elections for federal office.