Georgia for the first time in nearly two decades may field an independent candidate on its presidential ballot this November after a federal judge ruled a portion of the state’s ballot access laws violated the U.S. Constitution.

The state plans to appeal the March 17 ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Story, which significantly lowers the number of signatures required to petition to get on the state’s presidential ballot — from tens of thousands to 7,500.

But, for now, "it's a dramatic 85 percent reduction in the requirement," said Garland Favorito, elections director for the Georgia Constitution Party, which with the Georgia Green Party sued the state over the rules in 2012. "It's one of the few successes we've had."

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Chip Carter, a son of the late President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter, with longtime family caregiver and nanny, Mary Prince. "She's just family," Carter said. Plains, Georgia, July 2, 2025. (Courtesy of Chuck Williams)

Credit: Courtesy Chuck Williams

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Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC