On April 4, the Alaska Supreme Court put out an order in State v Alaska Democratic Party, S-16875. It says that the lower state court was correct, when it ruled that the party has a right to let independent candidates run in its primary. Here is the 5-page order. The Court will write a full opinion later. Chief Justice Craig Stowers wrote separately to say that he doubts that he agrees with the majority, but that he will postpone his decision until the full opinion is written. The Court released this order only a few days after the hearing, because it was aware that election officials and candidates needed to know the rules as soon as possible.

On April 3, the Albuquerque Journal published this editorial, saying New Mexico is better off without a straight-ticket device. Thanks to Rick Lass for the link.

California is the only state that prints a candidate’s occupation on the ballot. This Sacramento Bee story discusses the pros and cons of that policy.