Question Three, the Massachusetts initiative for a top-two system, has raised $5,200,000. The bulk of the money is from private equity investors. See this detail.
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North Dakota held its primary elections on June 9, 2026. Now, four Republican legislative candidates who lost their primaries are suing, arguing that their opponents’ petitions to get on the primary ballot were not valid. See this story. The case is in the State Supreme Court.
On September 29, the Pennsylvania House passed HB 280 by a vote of 115-88. Most Democrats voted for it and most Republicans voted against it. It lets independent voters vote in partisan primaries. The bill had been introduced in January 2025. The sponsor, Representative Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia) had introduced the same bill in 2023. Here is the text.
The bill now goes to the State Senate, which has a Republican majority. There are only eight days remaining available for floor votes, some in October and some in November.
The Hawaii ballot in the 43rd State House district for November 2026 has a very peculiar characteristic. Above the candidates for that race, the ballot reads “Republican Party Voters Only.” But all voters will use that ballot, and there is no mechanism to prevent any registered voter from voting in that race. See this story.
No one had filed to run in this district except two Republicans, and the primary in this race resulted in a tie. Election officials held a random sample drawing to determine the winner. But then the losing candidate appealed to the State Supreme Court, which said the tie-breaker is not authorized by any state law, and therefore was illegal. The Court in Souza v Nago ordered that both candidates appear on the November 2026 ballot, under the heading saying that only Republicans should vote in that race.
The Lexington Herald-Leader has this article about the Kentucky Party, the only minor party that is on the statewide ballot in Kentucky this year.