The Texas State Republican Executive Committee will meet on Saturday, October 11, to decide whether to block certain Republican legislators from running for re-election in the 2026 primary. Last year the party authorized a procedure to bar candidates from the Republican primary if they are disloyal to the party. See this story.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consideer whether to hear Watson v Republican National Committee, 24-1260, at its October 17 conference. This is the case in which the Republican Party and the Mississippi Libertarian Party are trying to overturn a Mississippi law that says postal ballots may be counted if they arrive by three days after election day. The parties argue that the 1872 law setting congressional election day on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November means that all votes must be in by that day.
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, 25-253, on November 7. This is the case in which the U.S. District Court had struck down North Dakota’s legislative district boundaries, but then the Eighth Circuit had said that only the federal government can file cases under the Voting Rights Act, section 2. That conclusion was at odds with many other precedents going back sixty years.
On October 2, the Maine Secretary of State announced that No Labels had cancelled its qualified party status. See this press release from the Secretary of State. All of the party’s registrants were automatically converted to independent voters.
On October 8, the U.S. Supreme Court heard Bost v Illinois State Board of Elections, 24-568. This is a case in which an Illinois Republican member of the U.S. House challenged the 2005 Illinois law that says postal ballots have until two weeks after election day to arrive. The Seventh Circuit had said that the candidate lacks standing.
Here is the transcript of the hearing. Congressman Bost had seemed to lose in the Seventh Circuit because that court that he was not harmed by the Illinois law. He has been elected to the U.S. House ten times and he always wins with a huge margin. In 2024 he got 74.2%, for example.
The U.S. Supreme Court argument made frequent reference to minor parties and their campaigns. Several justices said several times that some minor parties have “zero” chance of winning. Most of the justices seemed skeptical of any standing rule that might force courts to evaluate whether the election was going to be a close result or not.
