On July 11, 71 activists and officers in the Idaho Republican Party filed a lawsuit, arguing that Idaho’s open primary is unconstitutional as applied to a political party that wants a closed primary. The case is Beck v Ysursa, no. 07-299, U.S. District Court.

The Idaho Republican Party itself is not a co-plaintiff. However, the State Central Committee did pass a resolution on June 17, 2006, in favor of an open primary for the state party. Also the co-plaintiffs include fifteen members of the State Central Committee. The complaint is a class action, in which the “class” are all Republicans in Idaho. This aspect of the case (unusual in election law constitutional cases) may result in the Idaho Republican Party itself being forced to intervene. If that happens, the party itself will need to take a position. See here for the complaint.