The June 27 presidential debate sponsored by CNN requires candidates running outside the major parties to have qualified in states containing at least 270 electoral votes by June 20.  This is an irrational requirement, because the traditional bulk of petitioning for independent presidential candidates is done later in the year than June 20.

For example, in 1992, Ross Perot was only on the ballot in states containing 119 electoral votes as of June 15.  The authority for this statement is the June 15, 1992 print issue of Ballot Access News.  It shows he was only on the ballot in Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming (12 states).  He was finished petitioning in many more states on that date, but the state elections offices hadn’t checked his signatures yet.

The Illinois petition deadline for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, is Monday, June 24.  This is one of the earliest deadlines in the nation for presidential candidates running outside the two major parties.  The Illinois deadline has been made earlier and earlier over the last 130 years.  The original deadline was, passed in 1891, was in October.  In 1931 it was moved to August.  In 1999 it was moved to June.  Governor J. B. Pritzker still hasn’t signed the bill that moves it to May.

The New Mexico petition deadline for newly qualifying parties and independent candidates is Thursday, June 27.  That deadline has also been moved earlier and earlier, over the years.  The original deadline for new parties was passed in 1917 and was “anytime before the election”, a very impractical and vague law.  In 1935 it was moved to late September.  In 1975 it was moved to early September.  In 1981 it was moved to July.  In 1995 it was moved to April.  However, that deadline was declared unconstitutional in 2013 in Constitution Party of New Mexico v Duran, so the legislature moved it to June.

On June 18, the Nevada Secretary of State determined that the Green Party petition is valid.  See this story.  The story says the Green Party hasn’t appeared on the Nevada ballot since 2008, but that is incorrect.  It was also on in 2010, but its only statewide nominee in 2010, David Curtis, running for Governor, only got .63% of the vote.  He needed 1% to keep the party on the ballot.