Category Archives: Supreme Court
Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Argument in Faithless Electors Cases Telephonically in May
Order. And it appears that the oral argument will be livestreamed. This means we should have an opinion by the end of June unless the Court extends the term.
Supreme Court Wrongly Predicted Leaked Vote Totals in Wisconsin Voting Case
A sharp reader emails:
Note the following passage from the Supreme Court’s per curiam opinion in RNC v. DNC:
The unusual nature of the District Court’s order allowing ballots to be mailed and postmarked after election day is perhaps best… Continue reading
The Biggest Problem with the Supreme Court’s Opinion in the Wisconsin Voting Case Was Not the Result (Which Was Still Wrong), But the Court’s Sloppiness and Nonchalance About Voting Rights and What That Means for November
There has been a ton of commentary on the Supreme Court’s split decision in the Wisconsin voting case, which reversed a district court order allowing absentee ballots received by April 13 whether or not they were postmarked by the April… Continue reading
“The Supreme Court Fails Us; The five conservative justices refused to extend the deadline for absentee ballots in Wisconsin in the middle of the pandemic. “
Linda Greenhouse NYT column.
Adam Liptak NYT Analysis: “Rulings on Wisconsin Election Raise Questions About Judicial Partisanship”
NYT:
In a pair of extraordinary rulings on Monday, the highest courts in Wisconsin and the nation split along ideological lines to reject Democratic efforts to defer voting in Tuesday’s elections in the state given the coronavirus pandemic. Election… Continue reading
Joan Biskupic: “John Roberts’ unwavering, limited view of voting access seen in Supreme Court’s Wisconsin ruling”
Joan puts Wisconsin in context.
Morley: “Election Emergencies at the Supreme Court”
Michael Morley has written this extensive analysis of today’s developments, which begins:
This post offers a new perspective on the Supreme Court’s emergency order in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, No. 19A1016 (U.S. Apr. 6, 2020). It… Continue reading
Guy Charles on Today’s Wisconsin SCOTUS Ruling
Interesting thread starts here:
I want to make one point about the Supreme Court's decision in the Wisconsin case that I'm surprised has not been made. The Supreme Court & the federal courts more broadly have actually not done… Continue reading
Breaking: Supreme Court on 5-4 Vote Reverses District Court on Late-Arriving Absentee Ballots in Wisconsin Race. This is a Bad Sign for November in a Number of Ways.
You can read the opinion and dissent here.
In some ways, it is unsurprising that the Court divided 5-4 (conservative/Republican Justices against liberal/Democratic Justices) on a question whether the emergency created by COVID-19 and the dangers of in-person voting… Continue reading
Wisconsin Democrats and Other Plaintiffs File Response in Supreme Court in Case Over Absentee Ballot Receipt Deadline
You can find the filing here.
I think that they have a strong argument about application of the Purcell Principle:
Applicants rely heavily on Purcell v. Gonzalez, 549 U.S. 1, 4-5 (2006), in which this Court cautioned that “[c]ourt… Continue reading
GOP Seeks Supreme Court Stay of Federal Court Order Extending Time for Receipt of Absentee Ballots in Wisconsin Primary Affected by Covid-19; What Will SCOTUS Do?
You can find the filing at this link.
As expected the Purcell Principle plays a major role in the argument here, the idea that courts should not make last minute changes in election rules because doing so could confuse voters… Continue reading
“The Roberts Court Has Made the Looming Coronavirus Election Crisis So Much Worse”
David Gans:
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder left a gaping hole in our Constitution’s promise of democracy and opened the door to rampant voter suppression. Now COVID-19 is making things exponentially worse.
Supreme Court, Without Noted Dissent, Refuses to Hear Case Challenging Constitutionality of Seattle’s Campaign Finance Vouchers Program
No surprise here. I’ve always found the constitutional arguments against it incredibly weak.