Libertarian Party of Virginia  Founded in 1971, the Libertarian Party of Virginia (LPVA) is the Virginia affiliate of the United States Libertarian Party. The current party Chairman is Bo Brown. Virginia has one of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the United States. According to the Code of Virginia subsection 24.2-101, without "major party" status for automatic ballot access in Virginia, the LPVA has had to gather petition signatures to get on the ballot. The requirement for statewide elections, such as the U.S. Senate, is 10,000 signatures, including at least 400 from each of Virginia's 11 congressional districts. However, after the Virginia Republican presidential primary in 2012, Virginia lawmakers reduced the 10,000 signature requirement for presidential candidates by half. Now, according to Code of Virginia § 24.2-543, a petition to put a third-party or independent candidate on the ballot for U.S. President "shall be signed by at least 5,000 qualified voters and include signatures of at least 200 qualified voters from each congressional district." Thus, this revision makes it easier for presidential candidates to obtain ballot access; yet, the law still remains as a barrier to entry for minor party candidates. In order for the Party to gain automatic ballot access as a major party, one of its nominated candidates must receive 10% of the vote in a statewide race. To obtain the signatures necessary to receive statewide ballot access in Virginia, it has been quoted to cost between $45,000 to $90,000. Should the LPVA meet the ten percent threshold, career journalist James Bacon noted: "Sparing the Libertarian Party the expense of petitioning to get its candidates on the ballot would allow it to husband its resources to help candidates campaign... That would be huge." From time to time, the Libertarian Party of Virginia has taken legal action over Virginia's ballot access laws. In 2013, the ACLU supported the Libertarian Party of Virginia, and contended that the Libertarians would suffer "irreparable harm" given Virginia's ballot access laws. In "Libertarian Party of Virginia vs. Judd", the LPVA won the case regarding state residency requirements for petition circulators per the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on May 29, 2013. It was the first time a minor party had won a constitutional election law case in the Fourth Circuit since 1989 and 1988. In response to the Fourth Circuit's ruling, the State of Virginia via former Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as well as several other states, like Oklahoma, submitted petitions to the Supreme Court of the United States asking to reverse the Fourth Circuit's decision.