Federal appeals court upholds Hawaii's open primary

HONOLULU (AP) — A federal appeals court is upholding an earlier decision to support the way Hawaii holds its primary elections, rejecting the Democratic Party's desire to exclude non-Democrats from advancing candidates to the general election.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii had challenged the state's open primary system where registered voters can choose any party's ballot to cast their votes without formally joining the party.

Party leaders wanted to limit primary elections to formal members or people willing to declare their allegiance, because they said the open primary system allows people from opposing parties to influence their party's candidate selection.

"The open primary is part of Hawaii's commitment to make voting easier and to include more persons in the democratic process," said Doug Chin, state attorney general, in a statement.