On July 16, a Montana state trial court issued a Temporary Restraining Order in a lawsuit over which voters can sign petitions. Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights v Jacobsen. The TRO prevents the Secretary of State from rejecting signatures on petitions who are inactive voters. Inactive voters are those who are on the registration rolls, but who have not voted in the last two elections.

The rationale for letting inactive voters sign petitions is that the very act of them signing the petition and listing their address is a means for them to establish that they are still at the address that had been listed for them in the records. Montana had permitted them to sign petitions until recently, when the Secretary of State had reversed that policy and said they are not eligible to sign.

The Secret Service began protecting some presidential candidates in 1968. The first minor party or independent presidential candidates who ever received such protection were John G. Schmitz, 1972 nominee of the American/American Independent Parties, and Dr. Benjamin Spock, 1972 nominee of the Peoples Party. Eugene McCarthy received such protection in 1976. John Anderson received it in 1980.

Ross Perot did not want such protection in 1992 nor in 1996. He had his own security and did not want the federal government to constantly know where he was.

Thanks to Eric Garris, Darcy Richardson, Theresa Amato, and Clay Mulford for help with this post.

On July 16, the North Carolina State Board of Elections approved the petition of the We the People Party (which has nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.), but denied the petition of the Justice for All Party (which supports Cornel West). See this story.

Justice for All was denied because some voters alleged that the petitioners were making inaccurate statements about the purpose of the petition. Thanks to Bobby G. for this news.