For the last several years, CCD has been in federal court challenging the ballot access requirements in two of the most restrictive states in the nation — Indiana and Texas.During that litigation, we presented uncontested evidence demonstrating that it now costs $500,000 or more for a statewide Independent or Minor Party to qualify for the ballot in Indiana, and in Texas it costs $1,000,000 or more. Why does it cost so much? Partly it’s due to the huge number of signatures each state requires

August 5, 2022 (Raleigh, NC) — United States District Judge James C. Dever III today issued an order directing the North Carolina State Board of Elections (“NCSBE”) to certify the North Carolina Green Party (“NCGP”) as a qualified party in North Carolina and to place its candidates, Matthew Hoh for United States Senate and Michael Trudeau for State Senate District 16, on North Carolina’s November 8th general election ballot. CCD filed suit against NCSBE on behalf of NCGP, its candidates and sev

Suppose you wanted to run for office, but you weren’t exactly thrilled with the Republican or Democratic parties.Maybe, like Illinois emergency room doctor David Gill, you wanted to promote a single payer healthcare system, among other issues the major parties won’t touch.So you decided to run for Congress as an Independent.Now suppose you found out that Illinois has some of the most restrictive ballot access requirements for Independent candidates for U.S. House in the entire nation. Specifical

CCD founder Oliver Hall has published “When the Ballots Are Obstructed — Sky-High Signature Requirements Hamper Independent Candidates” in the pilot issue of the print-only(!) Capitol Hill Citizen.The article explores the age-old problem of foxes guarding the henhouse — in this case, Republicans and Democrats colluding to enact anti-competitive ballot access requirements that guarantee their nominees automatic access to state ballots at taxpayer expense while making it practically impossible f

March 17, 2022 – On behalf of a coalition of minor political parties, independent candidates and their voter-supporters, CCD today filed a case challenging the constitutionality of Indiana Election Code provisions that restrict access to the ballot for minor parties and independent candidates. The case alleges that Indiana denies voters the right to cast their votes effectively by guaranteeing ballot access to the two major parties — Republicans and Democrats — at taxpayer expense while imposi

On February 25, 2021, CCD sent Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds this letter urging her not to sign HF590 and SF413 into law on the ground that the legislation is unconstitutional under long-settled Supreme Court precedent establishing the “one person, one vote” principle.The legislation has passed both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate, and news media reports indicate that Governor Reynolds intends to sign it. If enacted, the legislation will impose several changes to Iowa election law that will rest

In case you missed it — entrepreneur Mark Cuban recently joined Sway, Kara Swisher’s New York Times podcast, for a wide-ranging discussion on a number of issues including his support for our work to expand and protect voter choice in American elections. Check it out here. Cuban discusses CCD’s work at around 31:58.

In partnership with the outstanding teams at the Northwestern Supreme Court Practicum and Sidley Austin LLP, and with CCD Advisory Board member Mark Brown as lead counsel, CCD has filed this petition for certiorari seeking Supreme Court review of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Thompson v. DeWine, which held that Ohio’s strict enforcement of its in-person petitioning requirements during the Covid-19 pandemic did not violate the First Amendment rights of citizens who seek to place

CCD founder and legal counsel Oliver Hall is pleased to join former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and others for the Citizen Advocacy Center’s forum, A Path to Direct Democracy, tonight at 7:30 Eastern.We’ll be discussing the challenges that proponents of initiatives and referenda faced in the 2020 election cycle, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, legal developments relating to ballot access and the prospects for reform, among other topics. For more information and to register visit the Citizen