On July 9, 2008, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that an Arizona election law requiring that independent presidential candidates to register earlier than those affiliated with political parties was unconstitutional. Presidential candidate Ralph Nader had filed a challenge to the deadline, arguing that it violated his rights to free speech under the First Amendment. Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer had argued that the early registration requirement was necessary to give the state time to print accurate ballots. The court ruled that the same deadline should be imposed on all candidates. The court also overturned a law that only state residents could circulate nomination petitions, finding that the regulation was not sufficiently narrowly tailored to address the state's ostensible anti-fraud goals. Nader had argued the regulation violated his Fourteenth Amendment right to free association.



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