On August 20, 2020 the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s order granting relief from petitioning requirements for independent and minor party candidates in Illinois due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision paves the way for a more competitive 2020 general election in Illinois, as voters will be free to cast their votes for independents, Greens and Libertarians — not just Republicans and Democrats. See the background on this case here and here.Even with the relief

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

CCD has filed an emergency action in the federal district court for the District of Maryland to obtain relief from Maryland’s requirement that “new” political parties file nomination petitions with 10,000 voter signatures to become ballot-qualified. The Plaintiffs, the Maryland Green Party and Libertarian Party of Maryland, allege that the COVID-19 pandemic and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s ensuing executive orders have made petitioning unlawful and practically impossible in the state of Maryl

CCD has filed an emergency action for relief from the petitioning requirements for political parties to become ballot-qualified in Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs — the Libertarian, Green and Constitution parties of Pennsylvania — allege that Pennsylvania’s 5,000-signature petitioning requirement is unconstitutional as applied, because it is both unlawful and practically impossible to obtain signatures on nomination petitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Wolf’s ensuing executive orde

Court Orders Illinois State Board of Elections to Place Libertarian, Green and Independent Candidate Plaintiffs on 2020 General Election Ballot for any Office for Which They Qualified in Either 2018 or 2016, and Lowers Signature Requirement and Extends Filing Deadline for All Others, Due to Coronavirus Public Health Crisis. UPDATE: On May 15, 2020 the District Court entered an order moving the filing deadline from August 7, 2020 to July 20, 2020, but otherwise leaving intact the relief granted

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has agreed to suspend the statutory requirement that ballot-qualified minor parties hold in-person conventions on April 18. This means that the Green Party of Texas and Libertarian Party of Texas are free to reschedule their conventions and/or hold them online, if they wish.#covid19 #pandemic #texas #thirdparties #conventions

CCD files lawsuit to challenge Illinois’ petitioning requirements for minor parties and independent candidates during the coronavirus pandemic. To qualify for the general election ballot under Illinois law, minor parties must collect 25,000 signatures on nomination petitions between March 24, 2020 and June 22, 2020. But that’s now impossible because Illinois Governor Pritzker has issued a “stay at home” order, which makes it unlawful to approach people and ask them to sign petitions.UPDATE: On A