On August 1, the Democratic Party filed a lawsuit to block a proposed initiative that would allow independent voters to choose a partisan primary ballot, and which would also provide for Ranked Choice Voting in primaries and general elections.

The initiative proponents haven’t even collected the signatures yet. The lawsuit charges that the Home Rule Act and the District Charter provide for partisan elections for Mayor, City council, Attorney General, Delegate to the U.S. House, and “shadow” Senators and Reprsentatives. The lawsuit argues that letting independents vote in partisan primaries somehow violates the Home Rule Act and the Charter.

The lawsuit is D.C. Democratic Party v Bowser, 2023-CAB-004732, in Superior Court. The Superior Court functions like a state court for the District of Columbia, and is not a federal court. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for this news. Currently D.C. has closed primaries.

On August 4, the Fifth Circuit struck down Mississippi’s ban on ex-felon voter registration. The basis is the Eighth Amendment, which says, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

Here is the decision in Hopkins v Hosemann, 19-60662. The vote was 2-1.

No Labels is now the fourth recognized party in South Dakota, along with the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. Here is the story.