The Reform Party of New York has been ballot-qualified since November 2014. In 2016 a dispute began over the true party officers. On May 31, though, the faction that had lost in the lower court withdrew its appeal. As a result, Curtis Sliwa is the undisputed state chair.

The party was put on the ballot in 2014 by Republican activists who wanted yet another line for the Republican gubernatorial nominee, Rob Astorino. Originally the party’s name was “Stop Common Core.” Astorino polled over 50,000 votes on that line, so it became a qualified party and changed its name to the Reform Party.

In other New York Reform Party news, the party was unable to have former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara listed on its primary ballot for Attorney General. But the primary for that office will go ahead, with three candidates listed.

New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver here advocates that New Mexico switch to a semi-closed primary. Currently New Mexico has closed primaries. Her piece does not use the term “semi-closed”, but if one reads her op-ed, that is what she is advocating. New Mexico’s neighbors Colorado and Arizona also provide for semi-closed primaries. Voters who are registered members of a qualified party can only vote on their own party’s primary ballot, but independent voters can choose any primary ballot.

In 2015, the Washington, D.C. city council amended election regulation 3-1600 to provide that if a qualified party doesn’t nominate anyone for a particular partisan office in its primary, that party is still free to nominate someone after the primary is over. The party must certify the candidate’s name up until 54 days before the general election.

This year, no Republican filed for any district wide partisan office in the June 2018 primary. But, because of the 2015 amendment, the Republican Party can still nominate, as long as it does so by September 13. Presumably the party will nominate for at least one district wide race, or it will lose its qualified party status after November 2018.

To see the regulation, use this link and for section 3-1600, choose the “view text” button. Thanks to Pat McConnell for this news. D.C. now joins Alabama, South Carolina, and Virginia, as places in which all qualified parties are free to use either primaries or party meetings to nominate.