The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled to uphold a district court’s dismissal of a case brought by the Libertarian Party of Tennessee and four of its members challenging the state of Tennessee’s ballot access laws.
In Tennessee, statewide parties – which must have earned at least 5 percent of the vote in the most recent gubernatorial election – and recognized minor parties – which must submit a petition with signatures equal to 2.5 percent of the votes cast in that same election filed 90 days before the general election – are offered ballot access in statewide elections.
Another win for Tennessee!
The 6th Circuit unanimously affirmed Tennessee's ballot access rules in Darnell v. @TNSecofState.
➡️https://t.co/QqDKXecT7D pic.twitter.com/eW65jp1QS8
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) May 1, 2025
The Libertarian Party of Tennessee sued the state in December 2023 over its ballot access laws after the political party failed to meet the requirements to be recognized as a “non-recognized political party” and, as a result, its candidates were listed on the ballot as “Independent candidates” rather than “Libertarians.”
In its complaint, the Libertarian Party alleges that, as applied to its members, Tennessee’s requirements for minor political party recognition violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee dismissed the Libertarian Party’s complaint, holding that it failed to state a claim.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s dismissal, ruling that the Libertarian Party’s complaint largely made general statements about how hard the state’s ballot access requirements are for all minor parties, rather than providing concrete examples of how the rules harmed them specifically.
“By and large, the complaint focuses more on the general burden any minor party faces in seeking recognition than the specific challenges faced by the Libertarian Party,” Thursday’s ruling by Circuit Judges Eric Clay, Amul Thapar, and Chad Readler says.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called Thursday’s ruling by the appellate court “another win for Tennessee.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Vote Here Sign” by Lorie Shaull. CC BY 2.0.
