On September 19, the Ninth Circuit ruled that it has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal of the U.S. District Court decision Idaho Republican Party v Ysursa. In that case, on March 2, 2011, the U.S. District Court had ruled that if the Republican Party wants to exclude sympathizers of other parties from its primaries, it may do so. The state, which had lost this case, did not appeal, and changed its election law to let qualified parties close their primaries.

Voters in Idaho who did not agree with the U.S. District Court decision, and who had been permitted to intervene in the case while it was in the U.S. District Court, appealed to the 9th circuit. But the 9th circuit said, “As a general rule, if a challenged law is repealed or expires, the case becomes moot.”

Opponents of the closed Republican Party in Idaho are free to file a new lawsuit, alleging that the new law is unconstitutional, although such a case would probably lose. The new law permits parties that wish to retain open primaries to do so, and the other qualified parties in Idaho (Democratic, Libertarian, Constitution) are expected to retain open primaries for themselves.

On November 8, Virginia elects a new legislature. Virginia has 100 House seats, all of which are up. In only 29 districts will voters see both a Democrat and a Republican on the ballot. Most districts only have one person on the ballot. Also running for the 100 House seats are five independent candidates, two Independent Green Party nominees, and two Libertarians.

Long-time independent House member Lacey Putney is running for re-election again. He has opponents from both major parties. He is age 83, and has been re-elected as an independent candidate every two years, starting in 1971, for a total of twenty elections in a row. Before he was an independent, he had been in the legislature for ten years as a Democrat.

In the 40 State Senate contests, there are three independent candidates and one nominee of the Independent Green Party.

On September 20, the Michigan House Redistricting and Elections Committee passed SB 584. It keeps the Michigan presidential primary on February 28, but provides that voters must request one particular party’s primary ballot. The list of which voters choose which party’s primary ballot is then a public record. UPDATE: on the afternoon of September 20, the bill passed the Senate, and is on its way to the Governor.

Past presidential primaries in Michigan, in most years, have been secret open primaries, in which the voter decides in the secrecy of the voting booth which party’s presidential primary to vote in. However, even then, the voter had to confine voting to only one party’s primary ballot. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for this news.