On August 15, U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer revised her opinion in Johnson v Commission on Presidential Debates, 1:15cv-1580. Her original decision of August 5 had said that the Obama and Romney campaigns in 2012 had set the 15% polling threshold. The revised opinion says that the Commission on Presidential Debates set that rule and that the Obama and Romney campaigns had agreed to it.

She has not corrected her other factual errors: she omitted Ralph Nader from the list of presidential candidates who were on the ballot in states with a majority of the electoral college in 2004 yet polled under 1%; and she still lists Virgil Goode in 2012 as having been one of those candidates, when in fact he was not on the ballot in states containing a majority of the electoral college.

On August 15, the West Virginia Secretary of State determined that the Constitution Party has enough valid signatures on its statewide petition. The petition includes nominees for President and Governor. No other statewide petition was submitted in West Virginia this year. The four qualified parties are Democratic, Green, Libertarian, and Republican. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news.

On August 15, the Ninth Circuit ruled against the Hawaii Democratic Party, in the party’s lawsuit that tries to obtain a closed primary for itself. Democratic Party of Hawii v Nago, 13-17545. Here is the 13-page opinion, written by Judge A. Wallace Tashima.

Hawaii primaries are open. Voters at the polling place choose which party’s primary ballot to use. Registration forms do not ask applicants to choose a party, or to choose independent status. The opinion says that the very act of a voter choosing a Democratic ballot may constitute a valid form of party affiliation.

Also, the opinion says the Hawaii Democratic Party did not provide any evidence that the open primary harms it. The party had argued that such evidence is almost impossible to find.

This opinion probably means that the Montana Republican Party will give up trying to win a closed primary for itself. Montana and Hawaii are both in the Ninth Circuit. The Montana Republican Party lawsuit had been on hold until this decision came out.