On August 20, a U.S. District Court ruled that the Committee for a United Independent Party may intervene in the case Idaho Republican Party v Ysursa. That lawsuit is an attempt by the Idaho Republican Party to obtain a closed primary for itself. The Committee for a United Independent Party is headquartered in New York, and holds itself out to the public as a force for the rights of independent voters. As far as is known, this is the first time CUIP has participated in any constitutional election law litigation anywhere in the United States, although it actively lobbies state legislatures around the nation. For example, CUIP was very active earlier this year, opposing a bill in Missouri to move the petition deadline for independent candidates from July to March.
Let’s be clear please, the members of Show Me Independents are those responsible for the death of HB1310 in Missouri. While CUIP may have made suggestions, it was SMI’s membership which wrote, called and emailed their state legislators in opposition to this legislation and their Co-Chair who testified in both the House and Senate committees in opposition to this bill.
The most important thing CUIP did in this effort was to introduce SMI to Richard Winger and this web site which has proved invaluable in that endeavor as well as ongoing information pertaining to ballot access news across the country.