Filing a complaint or winning a judgment are actions good enough to earn the headlines, but there’s plenty of election litigation ongoing throughout the United States at various stages. A taste of a few things that happened over the past week (or so):
Houston Community College System v. Wilson: the Supreme Court unanimously concluded that a member of a community college board of trustees does not have a First Amendment claim arising out of a verbal censure of the member. Part II-C of the opinion digs a bit into Bond v. Floyd (1966) and Powell v. McCormack (1969).
League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee (N.D. Fla.): the court asked for supplemental briefing this week in a challenge to SB 90, and how a new bill, SB 524, may affect the pending claims (if Governor Ron DeSantis signs the bill–I’m not aware that federal judges often ask for briefing about the impact of a potential new law). The parties dispute the effect of the bill on the pending litigation.
Cawthorn v. Circosta (E.D.N.C.): in a challenge to the qualifications of Representative Madison Cawthorne, consistent with a previously-described procedural morass, the Fourth Circuit sent the case back to the district court to evaluate whether any of the putative intervenors should be granted the opportunity to intervene. Briefing on this topic is set to close March 28, and another appeal on the topic (or on the merits) may follow. It does not appear that the matter will be resolved ahead of the primary election.
Toth v. Chapman (M.D. Pa.): the Supreme Court recently refused to take up an Elections Clause challenge to Pennsylvania’s maps (an “independent state legislature doctrine”-style claim). The district court has now dismissed the claims relating to the Elections Clause for lack of standing (while keeping a remaining challenge under one person, one vote).
La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott (W.D. Tex.): consolidated litigation over Texas’s election law has slowed as the defendants continue to file motions to dismiss and plaintiffs continue to amend their complaints. Most recently, the Court stayed deposition of the Secretary of State in the United States’ lawsuit (which was also consolidated in this action) pending the motion to dismiss, and Texas is resisting other discovery requests that the court will address in the near future.
Cervini v. Cisneros (W.D. Tex.): the “Texas Trump Train” lawsuit against individuals who attacked the Biden-Harris bus in 2020. This week, a motion to dismiss was denied. The court found that under 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (a provision of the Ku Klux Klan Act), there was no need to demonstrate “race-based animus” in a conspiracy under the statute to threaten individuals lawfully entitled to vote “from giving his support or advocacy in a legal manner, toward or in favor of the election of any lawfully qualified person” for federal office.