On August 10, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman, an Obama appointee, refused to put Michael Collier on the Texas ballot as an independent candidate for Lieutenant Governor.  The judge wrote that even if the law is unconstitutional, it is not clear that Collier would have succeeded in getting on the ballot even if Texas had had a moderate requirement.  The case will continue until the constitutional issue is settled.  The law requires 81,000 signatures to be collected in 30 days.  Here is the 8-page ruling.

On August 7, the Nebraska Secretary of State announced that the America First Party, and the Nebraska Working People Party, each have enough valid signatures to gain qualified status.  See this story.

Louisiana filing for U.S. House candidates closed on August 7.  Here is the list.  The only minor party candidates are Libertarians running in the 2nd and 6th districts.