As we reported yesterday, three supporters of Donald Trump sued the Virginia State Board of Elections to stop the implementation of the Virginia Republican Party’s requirement of a statement of affiliation for participation in the March 1 GOP presidential primary. At the State Board’s request, the judge added RPV as a defendant.

In an order issued minutes ago, the judge denied the Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction that would have halted the SBE’s plans to mail out copies of the Statement of Affiliation with GOP absentee ballots. In doing so, the judge noted very little likelihood the plaintiffs’ constitutional arguments would succeed, for the reasons we noted yesterday.

The court’s order leaves room for modification or removal of the requirement between now and March 1, but the road forward for the plaintiffs does not look very good.

A copy of the judge’s order, which makes for interesting reading, is embedded below:

Order Denying Preliminary Injunction