The latest news on this front comes from a really interesting article at Ballot Access News written by the widely-respected election expert and advocate for third party/independent ballot access Richard Winger. Take a look at this excerpt:

On April 12, the Montana House passed SB 350 by a vote of 67-33. It makes three improvements in the process for a new or previously unqualified party to petition onto the ballot. (1) a signature is valid even if the signer omits a middle initial that is shown on that signer’s voter registration form, or vice versa; (2) signers can’t remove their signatures from the petition after the petition deadline has passed; (3) the person who submits the party petition need not prove that he or she is associated with the party that petitioned.

All Republicans in the House voted “yes”; all Democrats voted “no.” This bill exists because state court judges appointed by Democratic Governors removed the Green Party from the ballot in both 2018 and 2020.

Read the full article here for Richard Winger’s conclusion.