Major Pending Election Cases

Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans v. Fontes

SCOTUS Watchlist:

Yes

Filing Date:

August 15, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Arizona

Topics:

Mail-In Voting, Redistricting

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona 2:22-cv-01374-GMS

Issue(s):

Whether Arizona Senate Bill 1260, which requires county recorders to cancel a voter’s registration if they receive confirmation that the voter is registered to vote in another Arizona county, creates a process to remove voters from the state’s permanent vote-by-mail list if the voter is registered in another county and makes it a felony to forward a mail-in ballot to a voter who may be registered in another state, is constitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Arizona Free Enterprise Club v. Fontes

Filing Date:

March 6, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Arizona

Topic:

Mail-In Voting

Most Recent Court:

Superior Court of Arizona in Yavapai County

Issue(s):

Lawsuit brought against the Arizona Secretary of State's interpretation of Arizona's 2019 Election Procedures Manual. The Secretary of State's interpretation allows signatures for mail-in ballots to be compared to prior signatures in a voter's record to confirm their identity. Conversely, the plaintiffs contend that the signatures for mail-in ballots must be compared to a voter's signature on their registration record.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta v. Raffensperger et al.

Filing Date:

April 1, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Georgia

Topics:

Absentee Ballots, Voter Suppression

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1:21-cv-01333); For new filings see, In Re: Georgia Senate Bill 202 (1:21-MI-55555-JPB)

Issue(s):

Plaintiffs argue that SB 202's challenged provisions deny AAPI voters full and equal opportunity to participate in the political process, and that through purposeful intent and resulting impact the new law amounts to a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Bennett v. Ohio Redistricting Commission

Filing Date:

September 24, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Ohio

Topic:

Redistricting

Most Recent Court:

Supreme Court of Ohio (2021-1198); Case consolidated with 2021-1210 and 2021-1193; For new filings, see League of Women Voters v. Ohio Redistricting Commission (2021-1193)

Issue(s):

Relators argue that the Ohio Redistricting Commission ignored constitutional deadlines and directives for redistricting. They claim that the Commission-adopted maps "ignored or subordinated traditional redistricting criteria and the interests of communities of color in order to give Ohio Republicans continuing supermajority control of the statehouse."

Coalition for Good Governance et al. v. Raffensperger et al.

Filing Date:

May 17, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Georgia

Topics:

Absentee Ballots, Voter Suppression

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1:21-cv-02070)

Issue(s):

A variety of nonprofits and individuals bring a challenge to SB 202 under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 1st and 14th Amendments. In particular this suit opposes provisions that allow state takeovers of local elections, shorten absentee ballot deadlines, and change absentee ID requirements.

Colorado Republican Party v. Griswold

Filing Date:

July 31, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Colorado

Most Recent Court:

Dist. Colorado (No. 1:23-cv-01948)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging Colorado Proposition 108, which allows unaffiliated voters to vote in partisan primaries without declaring a party affiliation. Plaintiffs argue the proposition violates the 1st and 14th amendments.

Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta et al. v. Raffensperger et al.

Filing Date:

April 27, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Georgia

Topics:

Absentee Ballots, Voter Suppression

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1:21-cv-01728); For new filings see, In Re: Georgia Senate Bill 202 (1:21-MI-55555-JPB)

Issue(s):

A variety of nonprofits bring a challenge to SB 202 under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the 1st and 14th Amendments.

Cooper v. Berger

Filing Date:

October 17, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

North Carolina

Most Recent Court:

Wake County Superior Court (23CV029308-910)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging several provisions of Senate Bill 749. Specifically it challenges a provision that removes the governor's power to appoint members to the state board of elections and grants it to the legislature instead. The complaint also challenges a provision which requires the state board of elections to have an even number of Republicans and Democrats. Additionally, the plaintiff challenges a provision of the law which changes the composition of the state's county election boards to be four member bipartisan boards appointed by lawmakers. The complaint alleges Senate Bill 749 prevents the governor from exercising his duty "to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed" and violates the North Carolina Constitution.

Democratic National Committee v. Hobbs

SCOTUS Watchlist:

Yes

Filing Date:

August 15, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Arizona

Topics:

National Voter Registration Act, Voter ID

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona 2:22-cv-01374-GMS; For new filings, see Mi Familia Vota v. Hobbs (2:22-cv-00509)

Issue(s):

Arizona House Bill 2492 requires Arizonans using federal registration forms to provide documents proving their citizenship and requires election officials to provide the Arizona attorney general with a list of voters who do not provide satisfactory proof of citizenship for investigation. The Plaintiff argues House Bill violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments by placing and undue burden on the right to vote, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because voters will be denied an equal opportunity as other eligible voters to participate in Arizona's elections, the NVRA's requirement that states only request the minimum information necessary to register a voter, Section 8 of the NVRA by removing voter from the rolls shortly before an election and the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act because birthplace is not material to whether the applicant meets Arizona's voter qualification requirements.

Democratic National Committee v. North Carolina State Board of Elections

Filing Date:

October 10, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

North Carolina

Most Recent Court:

Middle District of North Carolina (No. 1:23-cv-862)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging two provisions of North Carolina Senate Bill 747. In particular, the lawsuit challenges a provision that requires same-day registrants to provide additional documentation beyond a photo ID, and the undeliverable mail provision. The plaintiffs allege these provisions violate the Due Process Clause, places an undue burden on the right to vote under the 1st and 14th amendment, the Help America Vote Act, Section 11(b) of the VRA, the Civil Rights Act and the North Carolina Constitution's Law of the Land Clause and Free Elections Clause.

CASE TRACKER