Ballot Access News – Seventh Circuit Upholds Indiana Requirement for Statewide Independent Petitions
On August 17, the Seventh Circuit upheld Indiana’s petition requirement for statewide independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. Indiana Green Party v Morales, 23-2756. The state required 44,935 signatures when the lawsuit was filed in 2022, and at the time Indiana had the nation’s highest percentage for presidential candidates running outside the major parties. No one had used the petition since 2000.
However, due to low voter turnout in November 2022, the requirement (2% of the vote for Secretary of State) dropped to 36,944 signatures for the 2024 election. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. successfully met the requirement. The Seventh Circuit therefore seemed to feel the requirement is not severe enough to be unconstitutional
Here is the…