On October 14, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Polelle v Byrd, 25-147. This is the Florida case in which an independent voter had argued that closed primaries violate the U.S. Constitution.
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On October 9, Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State, notified the U.S. District Court that she does not agree with the Texas Attorney General about whether the open primary is unconstitutional. She notified the court that she has retained her own attorney, and that she and her attorney will defend the open primary. The Attorney General had told the court that the Attorney General’s office thinks the open primary is unconstitutional and therefore he wouldn’t defend it. The case is Hunt and Republican Party of Texas v State of Texas and Jane Nelson, n.d., 2:25cv-200.
In July 2025, the Democratic National Committee commissioned a report on why the party lost the 2024 presidential election. The party chose Paul Rivera of New York City to prepare the report. It is not yet complete, but it is close to being completed, and will probably be released in mid-November.
On October 9 and 10, a three-judge U.S. District Court held a trial in League of United Latin American Citizens v Abbott, w.d., 3:21cv-259. This is a challenge to the new U.S. House district boundaries, based on the Voting Rights Act. See this story.
On October 9, Donna Charles ended her campaign for Governor of Virginia. See this story. She had petitioned to be on the ballot, but did not have the needed 10,000 valid signatures. But she had been campaigning as a write-in, and a poll last month had showed her at 3%.