As noted earlier, the New Mexico Democratic Party sued Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran in the State Supreme Court on October 11. The Secretary of State did not put a straight-ticket device on this year’s ballots, and the Democratic Party charges she should have put such a device on ballots.

On October 15, the Secretary of State had the case transferred to federal court, where it is called Democratic Party of New Mexico v Duran, 1:12-cv-1061. The federal courts have not expedited it, so plainly it cannot have any effect this year. The case was first assigned to two federal magistrates who ordered briefs to be filed by October 19. But then it was assigned to a judge, and then reassigned to another judge, and then reassigned to yet another judge, and the third judge canceled the order that required briefs to be filed by October 19.