As already noted, on April 14 an Arizona state trial court put gubernatorial candidate Hugh Lytle on the primary ballot of the Arizona Independent Party, even though he had listed his business address, not his home address, on his primary petition. The individual who had brought the challenge has now appealed to the State Supreme Court. Here is the opening brief. Beckman v Lytle, cv26-0124.
Hawaii holds primaries for all qualified parties, but the primary ballot is the same piece of paper for all voters. Each party has its own area on the ballot. Voters must confine themselves to vote only in one party’s area of the primary ballot.
To determine the order of parties on the primary ballot, the Elections Office holds a random drawing. On April 28 the office held the drawing. The order of parties on the primary ballot this year will be: (1) nonpartisan; (2) Libertarian; (3) Green; (4) Republican; (5) Democratic.
On August 29, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry told Republican U.S. House candidates that he will suspend the May 16 congressional primary so as to facilitate the legislature’s passing a bill drawing new district boundaries. This was not a public announcement, but such an announcement is now expected for May 1.
No minor party or independent candidates for U.S. House qualified this year under the existing requirements, which includes an unconstitutionally early February deadline for minor party and independent candidate petitions. Presumably if new districts are drawn, filing will be re-opened and new candidates can qualify.
Some prominent Alabama Republican politicians are advocating that the Alabama legislature be called into special session to redraw the U.S. House district boundaries. See this story.
If Alabama does that, a reported U.S. District Court precedent, Hall v Bennett, 212 F Supp 3d 1148, says that the state must reduce the number of signatures for minor party and independent candidates, because the normal two years for petitioning would not be available.
On April 29, the legislature passed HB 1D, which draws new U.S. House districts. Governor Ron DeSantis is certain to sign the measure. Florida law has easier petitions in lieu of filing fee in redistricting years. Only 2,564 signatures are needed for U.S. House, and they can be collected anywhere in the state. However, petitions in lieu are due May 11, 2026.
It is likely the new districts will be challenged in court. It may be possible to sue for more time on the in-lieu petition. The filing fee for U.S. House is over $10,000, so the in-lieu petition this year is a bargain, relatively speaking.
The bill passed 83-28 in the House, and 21-17 in the Senate. Some Republican Senators opposed the bill.
