On May 12, the Montana Republican Party voluntarily withdrew part of its lawsuit concerning the Montana open primary. The party had asked the Ninth Circuit to rule that the state cannot force the party to elect local party officers in an open primary. The recent Republican Party notice to the Ninth Circuit says, “On May 5, 2015, Montana Governor Steve Bullock signed into law HB 454, which allows political parties to establish their own rules regarding the selection of their internal leaders. Appellants’ preliminary injunction appeal is therefore moot.”

However, the part of the case over whether the party can be forced to let members of other parties vote in its primaries for public office is still alive in the U.S. District Court.

On May 14, the Nevada Assembly Legislative Operations & Elections Committee passed SB 499. It had already passed the Senate. It moves the petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties from April to June, and moves the petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates from February to June.

U.S. District Court Judge Andrea Robin Wood has again postponed a decision in Libertarian Party of Illinois v Illinois State Board of Elections, n.d., 1:12cv2511. The issue is the state’s unique law that says newly-qualifying parties must run a full slate of candidates.

The case was filed in 2012 and still hasn’t had a decision on whether the law is constitutional or not. Earlier the case had been assigned to Judge Joan B. Gottshall, who enjoined the law and said it is probably unconstitutional. Then Judge Wood was appointed by President Obama. When new judges are appointed, cases are transferred from already-sitting judges to the new judges, to even out the workload and give the new judges some work.

Judge Wood said on February 12, 2015, that she would rule by March 11. But on March 10 she postponed her decision to March 24. Then, on March 23, she postponed it to March 28. No decision was released. On April 6, Judge Wood said she would have it out by April 16. But on April 16 she said she did not have it ready, but that it would probably be out by April 30, and definitely before a status conference to be held May 14. But on May 13 she cancelled the status conference, and the decision still has not been released.