Breaking: #SCOTUS Denies Cert in Kobach, Renzi Cases

The order list is here.

This is a very big deal. Kobach had the potential to shift more power away from the federal government in administering elections toward the states.  The question was whether the states of AZ and KS could force the federal government to require citizenship documentation to accompany the universal federal form for voter registration. This is a huge win for those who want to see a greater federal role and uniformity in elections.  My earlier coverage of Kobach v. EAC is here.

The Renzi case was a serious test of the scope of the Speech or Debate clause. At stake was the question whether that clause, which protects legislators in what they say and do as legislators, could be used to make it harder for federal authorities to investigate and prosecute bribery and related offenses.  My earlier coverage is here.

This takes two major potential election cases off next year’s docket, leaving the major one person, one vote Evenwel case as the only one right now on the Court docket.  I wrote about Evenwel, and the AZ redistricting case, which should be out any time, here at Slate.

This post has been updated.

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