On October 2, Andy Shugart filed this brief in the 11th circuit. The lawsuit, Shugart v Chapman, 09-14250, challenges Alabama law that requires more signatures for an independent candidate for U.S. House than it does for an independent presidential candidate. Alabama is the only state that ever requires more signatures for an independent for U.S. House than it does for an independent for president.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1979 and again in 1992 that states cannot require candidates running in just part of the state to get more signatures than are required for candidates running for statewide office. Nevertheless, the U.S. District Court in the Shugart case upheld the Alabama requirement, by saying that the 1979 precedent only relates to the situation when a state requires more signatures for a municipal partisan office than a statewide office. The U.S. District Court did not mention the 1992 U.S. Supreme Court precedent.