The Hawaii ballot in the 43rd State House district for November 2026 has a very peculiar characteristic. Above the candidates for that race, the ballot reads “Republican Party Voters Only.” But all voters will use that ballot, and there is no mechanism to prevent any registered voter from voting in that race. See this story.

No one had filed to run in this district except two Republicans, and the primary in this race resulted in a tie. Election officials held a random sample drawing to determine the winner. But then the losing candidate appealed to the State Supreme Court, which said the tie-breaker is not authorized by any state law, and therefore was illegal. The Court in Souza v Nago ordered that both candidates appear on the November 2026 ballot, under the heading saying that only Republicans should vote in that race.

The Berkshires Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed Joe Tache for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. Tache is the Party for Socialism & Liberation nominee for U.S. Senate. As far as is known, this is the first time any unit of DSA has endorsed the nominee of any party other than the Democratic Party.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has not yet acted on AB 1539, which was sent to him on September 3. He must decide by Wednesday, September 30. It requires political parties that run presidential nominees to file forms saying their choice for president and vice president does not violate the 22nd Amendment (the term limits amendment). It also requires independent presidential candidates, and even declared write-in presidential candidates, to file similar paperwork.

Generally, the more paperwork parties and candidates must file, the greater the odds that something will go wrong and the candidate or party will be kept off the ballot.