This Washington Post story about the surprising outcome in South Carolina’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on June 8 suggests that the result may have been affected by the order of candidates on the ballot. Apparently in South Carolina primaries, the candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

The story also suggests that Republicans may have raided the Democratic primary and voted for the Democratic candidate who was perceived to be the weaker of the two. That idea will probably be helpful to the new Republican Party lawsuit to obtain a closed primary for itself in South Carolina.

The Alabama Constitution Party submitted approximately 10,000 signatures so that it could be on the ballot in the First District for U.S. House. The petition is very likely to be validated, because the number of signatures submitted is almost twice the requirement. The party will nominate David Walter for Congress in the First District.

This is the first time the Constitution Party has placed any candidates for either house of Congress on the Alabama ballot. Walter will probably be the only minor party candidate for Congress in Alabama this year.

On June 10, the Texas Democratic Party filed a lawsuit in state court in Austin, seeking a court order to prevent the Green Party from certifying the names of its nominees to the Secretary of State. See this story. The case is probably called Texas Democratic Party v Texas Green Party. The case number is not available yet.

The Texas Democratic Party also seeks a court order to allow its attorneys to take depositions to find out who donated money to pay for the party’s petition drive.