Ballot Access News reports that the Barr campaign and the Libertarian Party are currently suing Louisiana over the issue of whether they missed the state’s filing deadline. The case is currently in the US Supreme Court, Libertarian Party v Dardenne, no. 08A269. All briefs on the injunctive relief matter had been submitted by October 2. The court handed down hundreds of orders on October 6, but did not address this case. It is not expected to hand down any more orders until October 14, but could decide to hand down individual orders at any time.

In Pennsylvania, Republican Party operatives have sued to remove Barr from the ballot, arguing that substitution of Barr for the candidate on the petition was improper. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear the case this week; it is unlikely to hear oral arguments in the case.

Additionally, Ballot Access News notes that the Barr campaign is also suing to get on the ballot in Connecticut, Maine and Oklahoma, and has write-in status recognized in West Virginia and DC. Ballot Access News currently reports that Barr is on the ballot in 45 states. The number will go up if he wins any of these lawsuits, and would go down if he loses the case in Pennsylvania.

The only alternative/independent candidate with more ballot lines than Barr at present is Ralph Nader, but Nader is missing more large population states (of which he has write-in status in all except Oklahoma). Nader does not have any more states pending.

In Presidential elections, the LP or its Presidential candidate was on the ballot in 48 states plus DC in 2004, 50 states and DC in 2000, 1996 and 1992 (except that it had a different candidate on the ballot in Arizona in 2000), 46 states in 1988, 36 states in 1984, 50 states and DC in 1980, 32 states in 1976, and 2 states in 1972.