On July 21, the New Jersey Attorney General informed the U.S. Supreme Court that he doesn’t intend to file a response in Balsam v Guadagno, 15-39. This is the lawsuit in which some independent voters filed a lawsuit, arguing that New Jersey’s closed primary system violates voting rights. The U.S. District Court and the Third Circuit had both upheld the New Jersey system.

In New Jersey, an independent voter can vote in a partisan primary, but if he or she does so, a notation will be made that the voter is a member of the party whose primary ballot was chosen. The voter can immediately afterwards fill out a new voter registration form, regaining independent status.

If the U.S. Supreme Court is interested in hearing this case, it will notify the state that it wants a response from the state. That would not occur until late September 2015, because the Court is now on summer break.