Category Archives: court decisions

“Appeals Court panel wrestles with NC Supreme Court election dispute”

March 21, 2025, 1:41 pmcourt decisions, recountsDerek Muller

Carolina Journal: A North Carolina Court of Appeals panel spent more than 90 minutes Friday morning listening to arguments related to state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin’s challenge of more than 65,000 ballots cast in last fall’s election. Griffin,… Continue reading

“DOJ Moves to Take Over Trump Defense Against Jan. 6 Lawsuits”

March 21, 2025, 1:41 pmcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Zoe Tillman at Bloomberg: The US Justice Department is seeking to intervene on behalf of President Donald Trump in the long-running civil lawsuits accusing him of being personally liable for the violence and disruption at the US Capitol during… Continue reading

In 6-1 decision, New York high court finds New York City’s non-citizen voting law violates state constitution

March 20, 2025, 7:17 amcourt decisions, votingDerek Muller

From the majority opinion in Fossella v. Adams: On December 9, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill entitled “A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to allowing lawful permanent residents in… Continue reading

9th Circuit will go en banc to reconsider Arizona voter registration decision

March 19, 2025, 3:01 amcourt decisions, voter registrationDerek Muller

Back in September, I noted the sharply divided panel decision in Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans v. Mayes on whether the plaintiffs had standing to challenge parts of an Arizona voter registration law. The majority concluded that the plaintiff… Continue reading

“Judge tosses challenge to Georgia GOP election law changes made after 2020 election”

March 19, 2025, 2:58 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

Courthouse News Service: A Georgia federal judge dismissed on Tuesday a challenge to provisions of a controversial GOP-sponsored election law that went into effect soon after the 2020 election, where President Donald Trump lost the state but disputed otherwise.… Continue reading

Federal court finds several Texas election provisions from SB1 in 2021 run afoul of federal statutes

March 18, 2025, 1:33 pmabsentee ballots, court decisions, voter registrationDerek Muller

A long opinion from the district court in La Unión Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott is here. Several portions of SB1 relating to mail-in voting and voter assistance were found to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the… Continue reading

By 10-5 vote, 5th Circuit opts not to take en banc decision that found Mississippi absentee ballots must be returned by Election Day to count in federal races

March 17, 2025, 4:14 amabsentee ballots, court decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

The opinions in the decision to deny the en banc petition are here, in RNC v. Wetzel. From the intro of the original panel decision, as a refresher of the issue: Congress statutorily designated a singular “day for… Continue reading

11th Circuit finds Florida’s closed primary statute withstands constitutional scrutiny

March 17, 2025, 4:13 amcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Three opinions from three judges in Poelle v. Florida Secretary of State. From the majority opinion by Judge Rosenbaum: Michael J. Polelle is a voter in Sarasota County, Florida, who has not registered with a political party. As a… Continue reading

Unanimous Washington Supreme Court rejects state constitutional challenge to absentee ballot signature matching practices

March 6, 2025, 9:05 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

Vet Voice Foundation v. Hobbs: This case concerns some of the most fundamental building blocks of our representative democracy: the right to vote, the legislature’s power and obligation to ensure that voters can freely exercise that right, and the… Continue reading

Divided Ninth Circuit finds Congress holds power to regulate presidential elections as it does congressional elections

February 26, 2025, 3:31 amcourt decisions, Elections ClauseDerek Muller

Justin helpfully runs through the major elements of the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Mi Familia Vota v. Fontes, but I wanted to highlight a divide in the opinion I wrote about back in 2022 just as this bill was introduced … Continue reading

Three thoughts on the 4th Circuit’s decision in the North Carolina Supreme Court dispute

February 5, 2025, 5:41 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

Rick H. linked to the unpublished per curiam decision in Griffin v. North Carolina State Board of Elections. Three brief thoughts on it. First, last week I noted that the case potentially implicated a significant shift in what kinds… Continue reading

Did a sleepy decision in October 2024 open the door for more federal court power over state election disputes (like the North Carolina Supreme Court dispute)?

January 30, 2025, 2:15 pmcourt decisionsDerek Muller

Back in October, I blogged about a Fourth Circuit decision in RNC v. N.C. St. Bd. of Elections. At the time, I briefly excerpted the “wonky” decision. But listening to oral argument in Griffin v. N.C. St. Bd. of … Continue reading

6th Circuit Issues Decision in Brown v. Yost

November 22, 2024, 7:57 amcourt decisions, direct democracyTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Sixth Circuit (with one concurrence) has ended the appeal of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction on grounds of mootness. Background from the opinion, “This appeal arises from a ballot proposal initiated by Cynthia Brown. In February… Continue reading

Felony disclosure requirement for federal candidates in North Carolina is not an impermissible additional qualification, Fourth Circuit holds

November 18, 2024, 7:15 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

From Sharma v. Hirsch, an opinion by Judge Wilkinson, joined by Judges Richardson and Rushing:

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law