Candidate and question access to the ballot is governed by detailed statutory requirements, and disputes proceed on emergency timetables.
Petition requirements. Signature thresholds, geographic distribution, circulator qualifications, form and heading requirements, and filing deadlines. Courts have struck some requirements as unduly burdensome while upholding others as reasonable regulation.
Review standard. Restrictions on ballot access are assessed by weighing the character and magnitude of the burden on constitutional rights against the state’s asserted interests, with the rigour of review sliding according to the burden’s severity.
Signature challenges. Verification procedures, the treatment of technical defects, and whether substantial compliance suffices vary by state and are the usual battleground.
Deadlines and laches. Courts apply laches strictly in election cases. A challenge brought after ballots are printed faces the argument that relief would disrupt the election regardless of merit.
The principle of avoiding late changes. Federal courts ordinarily refrain from altering election rules close to an election, which shapes the strategy on both sides.
Recounts and contests are separate statutory processes with their own deadlines, standards for counting disputed ballots, and cost deposits.
Practical guidance. For any candidate or committee, the calendar is the case: build it from the statute at the outset and work backwards.