Category Archives: court decisions

Maine’s Minor Parties Secure Victory

November 18, 2021, 3:15 pmballot access, court decisions, third partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

The U.S. District Court in Maine struck down two ballot access provisions that make it more difficult for minor parties to gain access to Maine’s ballot. Richard Winger offers a clear synopsis of the case, Baines v. Bellows, No. 1:19-cv-00509-LEW … Continue reading

Newsom recall lawsuit

August 17, 2021, 6:42 amcourt decisions, political equality, recall elections, Supreme Court, theoryNed Foley

Politico has a story on a new federal lawsuit raising a constitutional challenge to the procedures that California uses for its gubernatorial recall. The lawsuit follows upon a NY Times op-ed from last week by Erwin Chemerinsky and Aaron Edlin,… Continue reading

“Purcell in Pandemic”

August 7, 2021, 7:17 amcourt decisions, election administrationDerek Muller

I hope to highlight a few academic pieces this weekend. First up, a piece from Wilfred U. Codrington III forthcoming in the NYU Law Review on SSRN. From the opening of the abstract: Given the major events in the… Continue reading

USA Today analyzes potential impact of Brnovich

July 29, 2021, 11:19 amcourt decisions, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

Behind a paywall. A snippet: “At a time when more than a dozen conservative states have enacted new voting limitations and no evidence of substantial fraud has emerged from the 2020 presidential contest, election law experts say the lower… Continue reading

Wrangling over info in NC continues

July 28, 2021, 8:05 amcourt decisions, Department of Justice, The Voting WarsNed Foley

Raleigh News & Observer on the latest court ruling in the tug-of-war between federal and state officials, as well as the press, over voting records in North Carolina.

New Voting Laws Face Court Challenges Across the U.S.

July 19, 2021, 6:30 amcourt decisions, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Supreme Court, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActNed Foley

WSJ reports on the recent explosion of election-related litigation but also the challenges lawsuits have in light of new rulings like Brnovich.

The list of COVID-19 election cases hits 325

October 30, 2020, 9:21 amcourt decisions, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Supreme Court, The Voting WarsJustin Levitt

Justin here. I’m tracking the litigation over election issues related to COVID-19 … and the list of cases just hit 325. (The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project also has a really useful sortable database of these cases, with more info.… Continue reading

“Judge: Minnesota 2nd District election to take place Nov. 3”

October 9, 2020, 3:55 pmcourt decisionsRick Hasen

AP: A federal judge ruled Friday that the election for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District should proceed in November as originally scheduled, despite the recent death of a third-party candidate.Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig asked the judge to require that the… Continue reading

“The Trump campaign can’t have poll watchers at Philly satellite election offices, judge says”

October 9, 2020, 9:55 amcourt decisionsRick Hasen

Philly Inquirer: A Philadelphia judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s campaign does not have the right for poll watchers to observe activities inside the city’s new satellite election offices.The campaign sued the city last week, arguing its representatives… Continue reading

Federal District Court, While Excoriating Florida for Its Incompetence, Won’t Extend Registration Deadline After Last-Day System Crash

October 9, 2020, 7:00 amcourt decisions, voter registrationRick Hasen

The court found that the burden on the state in keeping the system going outweighed the risk of disenfranchisement. The court’s order concludes: The state could have extended the registration deadline until midnight on October 6th, which would have given… Continue reading

Eleventh Circuit, on 2-1 Vote, Reverses District Court Order That Would Have Extended Time for Receipt of Absentee Ballots

October 2, 2020, 2:56 pmabsentee ballots, court decisionsRick Hasen

You can find a majority, concurring, and dissenting opinion here. The judges broke along the party lines of the president that appointed them.

“Federal judge rules against voting-rights activists’ challenge of Ohio signature-matching rules on absentee ballot applications”

September 28, 2020, 8:48 pmabsentee ballots, court decisionsRick Hasen

Cleveland.com: A federal judge has ruled Ohio’s system of verifying signatures on absentee ballot applications is not burdensome enough to be struck down as illegal, rejecting arguments made by a coalition of voting-rights groups that sued the state.U.S. District Judge… Continue reading

The list of COVID-19 election cases hits 250

September 21, 2020, 10:46 amcourt decisions, election administration, election law and constitutional law, Election MeltdownJustin Levitt

Justin here. I’m tracking the litigation over election issues related to COVID-19 … and the list of cases just hit 250. (The Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project also has a really useful sortable database of these cases, with more info.)… Continue reading

“Mississippi justices: No broad absentee voting amid COVID-19”

September 18, 2020, 4:27 pmabsentee ballots, court decisionsRick Hasen

AP: Mississippi law does not allow absentee voting by all people who have health conditions that might make them vulnerable to COVID-19, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.A majority of justices reversed a Sept. 2 decision by Hinds County… Continue reading