On February 15, the Utah legislature passed SB 107, which eases the petition deadline for independent candidates from January to June 15. It also repeals the residency requirements for petitioners, so now the law allows out-of-state circulators.

As far as is known, this is the first bill in any state this year to have passed the legislature that improves ballot access for minor party or independent candidates. The lawsuit filed by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is responsible for the portion of the bill that eases the deadline.

On Febraury 18, No Leaders leader Ben Chavis appeared on MSNBC’s “The Weekend”. He said No Labels will have decided whether to run its own ticket, and who its ticket will be, by two weeks from now. See this story.

Free & Equal will host a presidential debate in New York city on Thursday, February 29, at 8 p.m. eastern time. The debate includes two candidates who are seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party (Lars Mapstead and Chase Oliver), and two candidates who are seeking the nomination of the Peace & Freedom Party (Claudia de la Cruz and Jasmine Sherman). The debate also includes Jill Stein, who is the front-runner for the Green Party nomination.

The debate will be live-screened on Rumble and Crowdpac, and is being held in Chelsea TV Studios.

It is somewhat rare for minor party candidates from diverse political perspectives to debate each other.