Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds Hawaii’s open primary elections

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion issued today, has upheld Hawaii’s practice of holding open primary elections.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii had sued the state Office of Elections in 2013 and sought to limit participation in the Democratic primary election to registered Democrats only.

The Ninth Circuit ruled that the Democratic Party did not show that the open primary system burdens its “associational rights” or impacts candidates or messages, according to a state Department of the Attorney General news release.

Hawaii’s voters may vote in only one party’s primary election.

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