• If a minor party was on the ballot in either 2016 or 2018 for an office that is up in 2020, then it is automatically on the ballot for those same offices in 2020

On April 21, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, a Clinton appointee, orally described substantial relief she intends to order for minor party and independent candidates for the Illinois 2020 election. Candidates will need 10% of the original legal requirement. The petition deadline is extended from June 22 to August 7. Signatures can be obtained on a signer’s computer via an electronic signature, although the candidate or party must then print out the results and transport a piece of paper to election officials. The order is being drafted but does not yet exist on paper.

Ballot Access News
By Richard Winger
April 21, 2020

Also, if a minor party was on the ballot in either 2016 or 2018 for an office that is up in 2020, then it is automatically on the ballot for those same offices in 2020. This means that the Libertarian and Green Parties are now on the ballot in 2020 for President and U.S. Senate with no petition. Also the Green Party is now on the ballot automatically for two U.S. House seats, the fifth and twelfth districts. Unfortunately there were no third parties on the ballot in either 2016 or 2018 for any legislative seats.

The case is Libertarian Party of Illinois v Pritzker, n.d., 1:20cv-2112. Statewide candidates for president and U.S. Senate, other than Libertarians and Greens, will need 2,500 signatures.

The state had said that it could not live with a deadline as late as August 7, but the judge still said she intends to order it. The minor party petition in Illinois was due in early August in all the years 1931 through 1999. Before 1931, it was in September, and it was in October from 1891 through 1929.

The basis for the order is that Illinois law requires independent and minor party petitions to circulate between late March and late June, a period of time entirely within the health crisis period. If Illinois didn’t ban circulating petitions before late March, it would have been in a better legal position. Before 1985 Illinois minor party and independent candidate petitions could be circulated as early as desired.