On December 17, Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State, filed this brief in Hunt v State of Texas, n.d., 2:25cv-200. This is the case in which the Texas Republican Party is challenging the open primary and demanding a closed primary for itself.

The Attorney General supports the lawsuit and has been trying to persuade the court to approve a consent decree, in which the state would agree with the Republican Party. In response, the Secretary of State hired her own attorneys, who argue that a consent decree can’t approved when the state’s chief election officer opposes that maneuver.

The current bill in the U.S. Senate to require states to use ranked choice voting for congressional elections now has a bill number, S.3425. It has two sponsors, Peter Welch of Vermont and Andy Kim of New Jersey.

This is the first time a U.S. Senate bill on this subject has had more than a single sponsor. In the previous congress, the bill, known as S.5048, only had Welch as a sponsor.

On December 19, U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock ordered Mississippi to hold elections for some State Supreme Court seats in 2026. The same judge had earlier ruled that the three districts for State Supreme Court elections violate the federal Voting Rights Act. The legislature is expected to draw new boundaries in early 2026. The state did not want to hold any elections for that office until 2028. Here is the ruling. White v State Board of Election Commissioners, n.d., 4:22cv-62.

Even though Mississippi holds elections for statewide executive posts and legislature in odd years before presidential years, the state’s State Supreme Court elections are always in even years. The terms are eight years. Judicial elections are nonpartisan.