The 9th circuit will hear Nader v Cronin on June 17, in Honolulu. This is the case that challenges the number of signatures needed for an independent presidential candidate in Hawaii. The basis for the lawsuit is that it is not even rational to require over 4,000 signatures for independent presidential candidates, when the state permits a fully-qualified party (with its own primary) to qualify with 663 signatures.

This is the only ballot access case from 2004 that is still unsettled, except for Nader’s lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee (pending in state court in Maine), and except for Nader’s ongoing litigation over the $81,000 he was charged in Pennsylvania in 2004.

It may seem that 4,000 signatures is a trivial burden, but that is not the case. Hawaii tends to be extremely severe when it checks petitions, and invalidates signatures if the signer shows neither the last four digits of a Social Security number, or the birthday. No independent presidential petition has succeeded in Hawaii since 1996.

U.S. House member Kendrick Meek recently submitted a petition to qualify for the Democratic Party primary ballot, instead of paying the filing fee. He is running for U.S. Senate. His petition has been verified. He needed 112,476 valid signatures and the counties have verified 115,557 valid signatures. See this story.

Excluding California, Meek’s petition is the first candidate petition in U.S. history to meet a requirement greater than 100,000 signatures.

Any registered voter was free to sign Meek’s petition in lieu of the fee. The fee would have been approximately $10,000, although chances are Meek spent more than that, getting the signatures.

On April 22, Rasmussen Reports released a poll showing that 50% of U.S. voters have at least once voted for an independent candidate, or the nominee of a minor party. Thanks to Independent Political Report for the link.