Category Archives: court decisions

“NC must give voters a chance to fix mail-in ballots before they’re thrown out, judge rules” (Link to ruling)

August 4, 2020, 8:37 pmabsentee ballots, court decisions, election administrationRick Hasen

News & Observer: Fears of coronavirus endangering voters in North Carolina this fall — or potentially lowering voter turnout — aren’t enough to force the state to change many of its elections laws, a federal judge has ruled.However, U.S.… Continue reading

Breaking: Supreme Court, on Divided Vote, Refuses to Vacate Stay in Florida Felon Reenfranchisement Case, Meaning Potentially Hundreds of Thousands of Former Felons Reenfranchised by Florida Voters Won’t Get to Vote in November

July 16, 2020, 10:37 amcourt decisions, felon voting, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

With at least three of the Court’s four liberal Justices dissenting, the Supreme Court refused to intervene in a case involving Florida felon voting rights, with big implications for voting in November. The procedural path of this case is complex,… Continue reading

“Court denies Mich. absentee ballots that come after election”

July 15, 2020, 12:34 pmabsentee ballots, court decisionsRick Hasen

AP: The Michigan appeals court denied a request to require the counting of absentee ballots received after the time polls close on Election Day, ruling that the deadline remains intact despite voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment that expanded… Continue reading

Read the Federal District Court Opinion Extending the Time for Oregon Initiative Proponents to Collect Signatures for Redistricting Ballot Measure

July 13, 2020, 5:34 pmballot access, court decisions, direct democracyRick Hasen

Following up on this post, you can read this order.

“Court Blocks Montana Law That Restricts Voting Rights of Native Americans”

July 7, 2020, 4:27 pmcourt decisions, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Release: A Montana court has blocked a state law that severely restricts the right to vote for Native Americans.The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Montana, and Native American Rights Fund successfully sought the preliminary injunction halting the so-called… Continue reading

Breaking: 7th Circuit, after 3 Year Delay, Decides Challenge to Wisconsin Voter ID and Related Voting Provisions, in Short Unanimous Opinion, Upholding and Striking Down Some Parts of Law; This is Mostly a Loss for Voting Rights Plaintiffs

June 29, 2020, 4:37 pmcourt decisions, The Voting Wars, voter idRick Hasen

You can find the 27-page unanimous decision, with no explanation for the 3 year delay in this case, at this link. This is mostly a loss for the plaintiffs in these cases, as the appeals court rejected many (though… Continue reading

11th Circuit Rejects Alabama’s Motion for Stay on Virus-Related Election Changes to Make Voting Easier in Upcoming Runoff

June 25, 2020, 1:34 pmcourt decisions, UncategorizedRick Hasen

Here is the order. And two of the judges had this to say about the Purcell principle: “Purcell is not a magic wand that defendants can wave to make any unconstitutional election restriction disappear so long as an impending… Continue reading

“Federal court tosses suit brought by Texas Democrats seeking to revive straight-ticket voting”

June 24, 2020, 3:32 pmcourt decisionsRick Hasen

Texas Tribune: A federal judge on Wednesday threw out Democrats’ effort to reinstate the straight-ticket voting option in Texas.Siding with the state, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo found that Democrats lacked standing to challenge Texas Republicans’ decision to… Continue reading

Federal Court Rejects Claim to Open More Kentucky Polling Places for Upcoming Primary with Most Voting Shifted to Absentee Balloting in Light of COVID-19

June 18, 2020, 6:56 pmcourt decisions, UncategorizedRick Hasen

Opinion here. Josh Douglas thread starts here: BREAKING: KY denies plaintiff’s claim that having only one polling place on June 23 violates the Constitution and the Voting Right Act. 1/— Josh Douglas (@JoshuaADouglas) June 19, 2020

New ELB Tag: “Court Decisions”

June 16, 2020, 12:13 pmcourt decisionsRick Hasen

I’ve just taken up a suggestion to include a new tag, Court Decisions, on #ELB. We will use it when the post includes a link to a new court decision (not to commentary on court decisions or other information… Continue reading

Federal Court Orders Minnesota to Conduct a Lottery for Ballot Order, Preliminary Enjoining Law that Put Democrats Last on Ballot

June 15, 2020, 9:04 pmballot access, court decisionsRick Hasen

You can find the court’s order at this link. The court along the way was pretty dismissive of the rights of third parties. The Eleventh Circuit rejected a similar challenge to Florida law on standing grounds.

“Predictive Facts”

June 15, 2020, 8:45 pmcourt decisions, UncategorizedRick Hasen

Brent Ferguson has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Washington Law Review). Here is the abstract: A substantial portion of constitutional law rests on untested factual predictions made by the Supreme Court. Such forecasts have played a large role in… Continue reading

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The law of politics and the politics of law