Joseph Hero filed to run for a local office in Lake County, Indiana, earlier this year. He is a Republican and the office is partisan, so he filed in the Republican primary. However, in 2015, the Republican Party had “banned” him for ten years because he had supported two independent candidates for local office. The Lake County Election Board therefore wouldn’t let him run in the 2019 primary. On August 26, he sued the board, arguing that the board had no right to exclude him. There is nothing in the Indiana election code that permits a party to “ban” people from running in the party primary.

The case is Hero v Lake County Election Board, n.d., 2:19cv-319. Here is his Complaint. He does not expect the case to affect the 2019 election.

On August 26, Helen Gym, a Democratic member of the Philadelphia city council, endorsed one of the Working Families nominees for that same office. The election is November 5, 2019. Philadelphia uses limited voting, so that even though seven seats are being filled, no party may run more than five nominees. Everyone expects that the five Democrats will all win, so the only real suspense is whether a Republican or a Working Families Party wins one of the remaining seats. Nevertheless, not all Democratic peers of Councilmember Gym are pleased with her action. See this story.