Federal appeals court uphold Indiana ballot access laws
CHICAGO (WISH) — A federal appeals court has upheld Indiana’s ballot access laws for third-party candidates.
The unanimous ruling handed down Monday found that Indiana’s candidate petition requirements do not place an undue burden on those hoping to run for office.
Indiana’s Green Party, Libertarian Party and other independent candidates had sued the Indiana secretary of state over the 2% petition standard.
The law allows any political party that receives at least 2% of the vote in the secretary of state’s race to have automatic ballot access for the next four years.
Any party that doesn’t receive 2% of the vote, or any independent candidate, must collect petition signatures equal to 2% of the previous secretary of state’s election to get on the ballot.
The petition signatures must be filed by June 30 of the election year.
The three-judge panel ruled the 2% standard was far lower than the required amounts that have been upheld in other states.
“It is clear that the restrictions challenged here do not severely burden the plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights,” Judge Kenneth Ripple wrote in the opinion. “Indiana allows candidates ample time to collect signatures, and the additional hurdle imposed by the county-level submission requirement is no greater than those upheld as part of more burdensome schemes.”
A federal judge in Indianapolis had previously upheld the state’s access rules.