On Saturday, October 11, the Texas Republican Party decided not to bar any candidates from its 2026 primary ballot. See this story.
2
The Iowa Libertarian Party elected its nominee Thomas Laehn to be the Greene County Attorney in 2018. He was re-elected as a Libertarian in 2022. Now he is running as a Libertarian for U.S. Senate in 2026. See this story.
On September 30, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks held a four hour argument in League of Women Voters of Arkansas v Jester, w.d., 5:25cv-5087. This is the lawsuit that challenges new restrictions on the initiative in Arkansas. See this story.
On October 2, South Dakota appealed Dakotans for Health v Johnson, 25-2940, to the Eighth Circuit. This is the case in which the U.S. District Court had struck down the February petition deadline for initiative petitions.
On September 4, the Texas Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the party has a constitutional right to a closed primary instead of an open primary. Hunt v State, n.d., 2:25cv-200. On October 9, the Texas Attorney General filed this motion, saying that the state will not defend its own election law, and that the state agrees with the plaintiffs.
Presumably, supporters of the status quo will now file an amicus curiae brief to defend the law. That is the normal procedure when a state won’t defend the constitutionality of its own laws. Thanks to Linda Curtis for the link.