An “open primary” is defined as a primary in which the voter is free, on primary election day, to choose any party’s primary ballot. There are two kinds of “open primary”: one in which the primary voter must publicly ask for one of the party ballots, and one in which the voter can choose a primary ballot in secret. On March 10, the Illinois Senate Elections Committee passed SB 1666, to switch Illinois from a state in which the voter must publicly choose a primary ballot, to a state in which the voter decides which primary ballot to use in the secrecy of the voting booth.

The sponsor of SB 1666 is Senator Larry Bomke (R-Springfield). His bill passed on a 5-4 vote. All four Republicans on the Committee, plus Democratic Senator Maggie Crotty, voted for the bill.

On March 9, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee passed HB 1299, the National Popular Vote Plan bill.

On November 9, a lower state court in Illinois construed state election law to mean that homeless people cannot run for public office. Fore v Village of Oak Park Electoral Board, 09-coel-0029, Cook County. The homeless candidate, Daniel Fore, is appealing. The lower court said the declaration of candidacy requires a fixed residence address.

If the State Appeals Court and the Illinois Supreme Court uphold this construction of state law, then the candidate will probably file a federal lawsuit, charging the state law violates the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court many decades ago invalidated property requirements for candidates to run for public office.