The Libertarian Party is fighting ballot access in Illinois restrictions on party access to elections. Ballot Access News had a great post recently on Libertarians in Illinois called “Illinois Libertarians File Final Brief in Case Challenging “Full Slate” Requirement” where the author, Richard Winger, had the following information:

On July 15, the Illinois Libertarian Party filed this final brief in U.S. District Court, in its lawsuit to overturn the unique Illinois law that requires newly-qualifying parties (but not other parties) to run a full slate of candidates. The state will then file a response and then the court will make a decision. Earlier in this same case, another U.S. District Court Judge already enjoined the requirement.

From the conclusion of the Libertarian Party brief:

The full-slate requirement violates plaintiffs’ rights to associate for the advancement of their political beliefs and to vote effectively, because it is unduly burdensome, wholly unnecessary, and does not serve any cognizable state interest. In particular, it subverts plaintiffs’ “constitutional right … to create and develop a new political party.” Norman v. Reed, 502 US. 279, 288 (1992). It also violates plaintiffs rights to equal protection, because it does not apply to established parties or to independent candidates. It fails the Anderson/Burdick test for determining the legitimacy of ballot access restrictions. It is unconstitutional because it does not survive any level of constitutional scrutiny on the continuum from rational basis analysis to strict scrutiny. For the foregoing reasons, Illinois’ full-slate requirement should be declared unconstitutional on its face and as applied to the plaintiffs in this case.

The Libertarian Party has notched up some impressive wins in Illinois elections including Chris Jenner who has become well known after winning a seat on the McHenry County College Board.  His win was covered in a recent post on the Libertarian Party website:

Jenner pointed out that crony capitalism is common in Illinois school districts, and cited a recent example of one campaign contributor in another district who soon thereafter received a valuable sweetheart construction deal. “This is another one of these shenanigans that goes on up here,” Jenner said. He also plans to introduce new transparency policies that exceed legal reporting requirements, another successful initiative from his prior school board experience. Eliminating millions of dollars in unnecessary planned spending is an ambitious goal, but Jenner hopes to go even further than cutting back on current spending proposals… 

“…We had a lot of help from some Libertarian people out here, namely the Fox Valley Libertarian Party,” Jenner said. “The LP out in this area was big in helping us get the vote out and getting elected.”