The Greenville News has this story about the attempts by some leaders of the South Carolina Republican Party to nominate by convention in 2014. State law says any party is free to decide for itself whether to nominate by primary or convention. But, state law also says that if a party wants to switch to convention nomination, it can only make the change if 75% of the delegates to the state convention vote for that change. South Carolina’s ballot-qualified minor parties always nominate by convention, but the Republican Party hasn’t nominated by convention for important statewide office since the late 1970’s.

Party leaders who favor nomination by convention for 2014 say what they really want is a closed Republican primary, which would require the state to start asking voters to choose a party on voter registration forms. However, the state legislature won’t pass a bill to do that. The party also has a lawsuit pending in federal court to obtain a closed primary for itself.