On September 22, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Steve Rauschenberger should remain on the ballot as the Republican Party nominee for State Senate in the 22nd district.  His Democratic opponent had argued that he should be removed because in the spring of 2009, he had voted in a local Democratic Party primary.  There is no written opinion yet.  See this story.

Illinois, Indiana, Montana, and Ohio do not ask voters to choose a party on voter registration forms.  Yet, those four states have other election laws, which are invariably confusing, that try to determine if, in reality, any voter is “really” a member of any particular party.  These states sometimes consider a voter or a candidate to have been a member of one particular party if they choose one particular party’s primary ballot, or if they hold office in a political party, or they in any other way associate themselves with a particular political party.  These vague laws cause considerable confusion and litigation, especially when they are used to block individuals from running for office.

The Illinois ballot still isn’t settled.  The lawsuit over whether the Constitution Party slate of statewide candidates should be on the ballot is set for Friday, September 24.