Third-party candidates will now need to collect fewer signatures to run for congressional seats and other elected offices in Georgia.
U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May wrote in a ruling Friday that the state must allow third-party candidates for non-statewide offices to appear on the ballot if they collect the signatures of 1% of registered voters, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That’s the same threshold required to run for statewide office in Georgia.
May’s ruling came in a lawsuit challenging a 1943 state law that sets a 1% signature threshold for third-part candidates seeking statewide office such as governor or U.S. senator, but raises the signature requirement to at least 5% of registered voters for other offices such as U.S. House or state legislative seats.
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