New Voting Laws Face Court Challenges Across the U.S.
WSJ reports on the recent explosion of election-related litigation but also the challenges lawsuits have in light of new rulings like Brnovich.
Category Archives: court decisions
The list of COVID-19 election cases hits 325
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”
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”
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
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
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”
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
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”
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
Breaking and Analysis: Federal Court Steps Aside for Now in Dispute over Drop Boxes and Other Pennsylvania Election Rules
In a thoughtful 37-page opinion, in one of the most closely watched pieces of litigation surrounding the conduct of the 2020 election, a federal court (Trump appointee Judge Nicholas Ranjan) has used Pullman abstention to decline to consider the… Continue reading
Federal District Court Rejects Challenges to Indiana’s Excuse-Only Absentee Ballot System for November
A federal district court has rejected arguments that the system violates equal protection or the 26th amendment (which was made on the grounds that older voters can vote without an excuse but others cannot). It will not issue a preliminary… Continue reading
Federal District Court (Same Judge Who UPHELD Indiana’s Strict Voter ID Law in Crawford) Holds Indiana Cannot Reject Mail-in Ballots for a Purported Signature Mismatch Without Giving Voter Notice and a Chance to Cure
A very important and correct ruling on both due process and equal protection grounds.
7th Circuit Affirms Order Easing Way for Libertarian Party and Others Onto the Illinois Ballot, After Illinois Elections Board Changed Its Mind
From the unsigned order:
Once again in its appellate briefs the Board asks this court to reverse the district court’s decisions and permit the Board to determine the best options for balancing the, plaintiffs’ interests with the statutory ballot… Continue reading
Alabama: “Absentee voting lawsuit against state dismissed by judge”
AL.com:
A state judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit by disability advocates challenging provisions of Alabama’s absentee ballot laws, saying his court lacked jurisdiction and the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue.The lawsuit, initially filed in May in Montgomery… Continue reading