Minor parties or independent candidates have constitutional lawsuits pending in at least 21 states:
1. Arkansas, where the Green Party is challenging the state’s definition of “qualified party”.
2. California, where the Libertarian Party is challenging residency requirements for petition circulators.
3. Colorado, where two independent candidates are challenging the deadline for an independent to have left membership in a political party (the legislature fixed this problem this year but didn’t make it effective until after the 2010 election, so the case is not moot because the candidates want to run in 2010).
4. Connecticut, where the Green and Libertarian Parties are awaiting a decision of the 2nd circuit in the case against discriminatory public funding for candidates.
5. District of Columbia, where the Libertarian Party is waiting for a decision on whether the Board of Elections should count write-ins cast for Bob Barr in 2008.
6. Georgia, where an independent candidate, Faye Coffield, challenges the number of signatures for to run for U.S. House. Her rehearing request in the 11th circuit was filed April 9 and is still pending.
7. Hawaii, where Ralph Nader’s challenge to the number of signatures needed for an independent presidential candidate will be heard in the 9th circuit in Honolulu on June 17.
8. Kansas, where the Constitution Party is seeking to win the right to have voters register as members of the party, even though it is not ballot-qualified.
9. Massachusetts, where the Libertarian Party is in the 1st circuit over presidential stand-ins.
10. Montana, where an independent candidate for U.S. Senate is challenging the March petition deadline; the first brief in the 9th circuit was filed on June 11.
11. Nebraska, where an independent candidate and the Libertarian Party are both challenging the ban on out-of-state circulators.
12. New Hampshire, where the Libertarian Party is challenging the ban on presidential stand-ins, and the state’s refusal to allow unqualified parties control over which candidates can use the party’s label on the ballot.
13. New Jersey, where an independent candidate’s lawsuit over ballot format is dormant but still alive in state court.
14. New Mexico, where the Green Party is challenging the state’s definition of “political party”.
15. North Carolina, where the Green and Libertarian Parties are challenging many of the state’s ballot access laws in State Supreme Court, and where an independent candidate is challenging the number of signatures for an independent candidate for U.S. House.
16. Pennsylvania, where the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties are challenging the state’s refusal to tally write-ins; the refusal of some counties to count any write-ins; the state’s 15% voter registration membership test to be automatically on the ballot;and the state’s policy of charging candidates huge court costs if their petitions are invalidated after being challenged.
17. South Carolina, where the Green Party is challenging the state law that says if a party nominates someone, and that person later tries to get another party’s nomination and fails, then the first nomination is voided.
18. South Dakota, where the Constitution Party is challenging the number of signatures needed to get a candidate on the party’s own primary ballot.
19. Utah, where an independent candidate is challenging the state’s refusal to recognize electronic signatures on petitions.
20. Virginia, where the Libertarian Party is challenging the residency requirement for circulators.
21. Washington, where the Libertarian Party, along with the two major parties, is challenging the state’s top-two election system.
Also pending is the case against the Post Office regulation that bans petitioning on interior post office sidewalks. This case is by far the oldest case on this list; it was filed over ten years ago and is still in U.S. District Court. And, two cases filed by referendum proponents are pending in Maryland over an interpretation of state law that says signatures are invalid if they aren’t exact matches to the signer’s name on the voter registration form.