The trial in Green Party of Arkansas v Daniels has been moved from the last week in June, to sometime in July. It is likely that the U.S. District Court Judge who is hearing the case wants to know (at the time of the trial) if the party’s petition this year has succeeded.

It is essential that the Arkansas Green Party’s current petition succeed this year. The party must submit 10,000 valid signatures by June 18. If the petition fails, and that is known during the trial, that will be evidence that the party lacks substantial support, and will injure the lawsuit’s chances. Anyone, regardless of residence, is free to circulate a petition in Arkansas, and any assistance will be invaluable. The issue in the lawsuit is whether it is constitutional for a state to disqualify a party from the ballot (immediately after a presidential election year) because that party failed to poll 3% of the vote for President.

The Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry California has taken a position against Proposition 14, the top-two ballot measure on the June 8, 2010 ballot. See here. The UULMC represents the 80 Unitarian congregations in California, and is headquartered in Sacramento. Thanks to Cat Woods for the link.

Texas Greens are optimistic that their petition drive for 2010 will succeed. The deadline is Monday, May 24. Here is the link to the party’s web page electronic petition. However, the party is depending almost entirely on old-fashioned signatures on paper.

If the party does get on the ballot in Texas in 2010, it is almost certain to poll enough votes to also appear on the 2012 ballot, because this year no Democrat is running for State Comptroller. Greens do have a candidate for that office, as do Libertarians and Republicans. It is very likely the Green candidate for Comptroller will poll 5% and extend the party’s ballot status into 2012.