Lee v. Keith

Lee v. Keith, 463 F.3d 763 (7th Cir. 2006)[1] was a case in which, on September 18, 2006,[2] the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit struck down Illinois' ballot access laws, opining:

In combination, the ballot access requirements for independent legislative candidates in Illinois--the early filing deadline, the 10% signature requirement, and the additional statutory restriction that disqualifies anyone who signs an independent candidate's nominating petition from voting in the primary--operate to unconstitutionally burden the freedom of political association guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments. Ballot access barriers this high--they are the most restrictive in the nation and have effectively eliminated independent legislative candidacies from the Illinois political scene for a quarter of a century--are not sustainable based on the state's asserted interest in deterring party splintering, factionalism, and frivolous candidacies.[3]

Lee v. Keith
Court	United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Full case name	David Lee v. John Keith, et al
Argued	June 9, 2006
Decided	September 18, 2006
Citation(s)	463 F.3d 763 (7th Cir. 2006)
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	Kenneth Francis Ripple, Daniel Anthony Manion, Diane S. Sykes
Case opinions
Majority	Sykes, joined by Ripple, Manion
Laws applied
First Amendment Fourteenth Amendment

References

1. Lee v. Keith, 463 F.3d 763 (7th Cir. 2006).
2. Illinois election law ruled unconstitutional: Lee V. Keith, 2006 Archived 2007-02-08 at Archive.today, Coalition for Free and Equal Elections
3. Judge orders election board to certify Illinois SEP candidate, Jerome White, Sept. 20, 2006.