Month: June 2020

The federal district court for the district of Maryland has entered an order reducing Maryland’s petitioning requirements for the Green Party of Maryland and the Libertarian Party of Maryland by 50 percent — from 10,000 to 5,000 signatures — as a result of a lawsuit CCD filed in partnership with pro bono counsel H. Mark Stichel of the law firm Astrachan Gunst Thomas. Pursuant to the court’s order, entered on June 19, 2020, the Green and Libertarian parties are also authorized to collect petiti

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has granted CCD’s appeal on behalf of David Gill, an independent candidate for U.S. House in Illinois who challenged the constitutionality of Illinois’ ballot access requirements for such candidates. In a decision entered on June 18, 2020, the Court of Appeals reversed the District Court’s decision upholding Illinois’ requirements and remanded the case to the District Court for a decision on the merits. The Court of Appeals ruled that the District Court erred

On June 21, 2020 — a Sunday — the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals entered an order denying the State Board of Elections’ motion to stay the petitioning relief the district court granted to Illinois’ minor party and independent candidates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court of Appeals’ decision effectively guarantees that Illinois’ minor party and independent candidates can rely on the district court’s order when seeking to qualify for Illinois’ ballot in the 2020 general election.The Stat