On August 29, the U.S. government filed this brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Segovia v U.S., 17-1463. This is the case in which the Seventh Circuit upheld the system in which residents of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands may continue to vote absentee in Illinois, if they lived in Illinois before moving to those U.S. possessions. But former voters of Illinois who move to Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rico may not.

The U.S. government initially said it wouldn’t bother to file a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, but then the U.S. Supreme Court requested a response. The government says the plaintiffs lack standing.

Arizona held primaries on August 28. The incumbent Secretary of State, Michele Reagan, lost the Republican primary by more than two-to-one, to businessman Steve Gaynor, who vastly outspent her. It is very rare for incumbent Secretaries of State to lose a primary.

A local initiative has qualified for the ballot in Fargo, North Dakota. It would switch elections for city office to Approval Voting. See this story. Thanks to Shawn Griffiths for this news.