The issue of the identity of the Virgin Islands’ delegates to the Republican national convention continues. The caucus winners had been challenged on two independent grounds. First, on whether they had lived in the Virgin Islands long enough to be eligible; second, whether they disqualified themselves when they didn’t accept their election within five days of the caucus.

The newcomers won in court on the duration of residency issue. The law does have a 90-day residency requirement for “territorial elections”, but a Virgin Islands court recently ruled that law does not apply to presidential caucuses.

Still to be settled is whether the newcomers should be disqualified because they didn’t accept their election in writing within five days of the caucus. The chair of the party interpreted the five-day period to start on the day of the caucus. But this is disputed by other party officers, who say the five day-period starts on the day when the candidates are certified as the winners. See this story.

The newcomers are all unpledged to any particular presidential candidates, and say that an uncommitted delegation will bring some measure of influence to the Virgin Islands, given the unpredictability of the upcoming Republican presidential process.

On March 22, attorneys for Montana state government filed this brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Ravalli County Republican Central Committee v McCulloch, 15A911. The issue is whether the Republican Party of Montana has a freedom of association right to avoid the June 7, 2016 open primary. The party complains that the open primary allows Democrats to vote in the Republican primary. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy had asked for this filing, and is pondering whether to order that the June 2016 primary process be altered in some undetermined way.

All six of the Virgin Islands delegates to the Republican national convention have been ousted by the chair of the Territory’s Republican Party. The chair said they failed to accept their election in writing. See this story.