South Carolina Republicans sue state to end open primary elections [View all]

Source: The Hill

07/10/26 3:11 PM ET


The South Carolina Republican Party has filed a lawsuit in a bid to force the state’s open primary elections to close as part of a long-running push to restrict GOP contests to only registered Republican voters. The Palmetto State currently does not require registration by party and allows voters to participate in either of the state’s primary contests regardless of their partisan affiliation. Voters can choose to participate in one but not both.

In the new lawsuit, filed July 6, the South Carolina GOP argues the open-primary model violates its First Amendment rights to free association and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment by compelling the party to open its primaries to those who are not affiliated with it and “do not subscribe to the party’s principles.”

“An open primary system permits voters who have not joined the Republican Party to influence the Party’s most important associational act: choosing its nominee, thus depriving the Party of the fundamental right of association and the fundamental right to govern its own affairs,” lawyers wrote on behalf of the party.

The challenge asks a federal judge to force the South Carolina Election Commission to comply with a new state party rule that limits Republican primary participation to only GOP voters.

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5963026-south-carolina-republicans-lawsuit-primary-elections/