Major Pending Election Cases

Democratic National Committee v. Scanlan

Filing Date:

December 12, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

New Hampshire

Topics:

Ballot Access, Voter ID

Most Recent Court:

Hillsborough Superior Court, Southern District (226-2023-CV-00613)

Issue(s):

The lawsuit challenges New Hampshire SB 418 which puts some limitations on same day voter registration voters. The plaintiffs argue that the bill violates New Hampshire's state constitution including its Due Process clause.

DeVisser v. Benson

Filing Date:

September 28, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Michigan

Topic:

Polling Place Challengers

Most Recent Court:

Court of Claims in State of Michigan (22-000164-MM); For new filings, see O'Halloran v. Benson (22-000162-MZ)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging several new rules, set by the Secretary of State, concerning partisan election challengers are in violation of state law. These new rules include a requirement that every polling place have a challenger liaison, a restriction that only permits election challengers to communicate with challenger liaison, a regulation authorizing election inspectors to not record impermissible challenges, and a rule allowing challengers to be ejected from failing to follow instructions.

Eakin v. Adams County Board of Elections

Filing Date:

November 7, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Pennsylvania

Topic:

Mail-In Voting

Most Recent Court:

U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1:22-CV-340)

Issue(s):

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Fetterman for USA filed suit against Pennsylvania's 67 county boards of elections. They challenge the "Date Instruction" which prevents counties from counting undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots. They argue that not counting these ballots violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act. They claim that whether a mail-in ballot is undated or wrongly dated has no materiality as to whether the individual is eligible to vote, because Pennsylvania law determines eligibility based on the date of the election, not the date marking the ballot. The plaintiffs also claim that the Date Instruction violates the First and Fourteenth Amendment by placing an undue burden on the right to vote. The plaintiffs ask that the county boards of elections be prohibited from rejecting undated or wrongly dated mail-in ballots based on the Date Instruction.

Florida Rights Restoration v. DeSantis

Filing Date:

July 19, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Florida

Topics:

Voter Suppression, Voting Rights Act

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging Florida's system for voting rights restoration and the state's elections police unit. They argue that Florida has failed to inform individuals of their voting eligibility, including whether they have paid all fees and fines as required by state law. The lawsuit also argues that the elections police unit primarily serves to intimidate individuals with prior felony convictions to prevent them from voting. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare Florida's implementation of felony voting rights restoration as in violation of the VRA, as well as the 1st and 14th amendments.

Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP v. Byrd

Filing Date:

May 24, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Florida

Topics:

Voter Suppression, Voting Rights Act

Most Recent Court:

United Stated District Court for the Northern District of Florida (No. 4:23-cv-00215-MW-MAF)

Issue(s):

Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit against several provisions of Florida Senate Bill 7050. They argue that a portion of the law, which prohibits noncitizen volunteers from conducting third party registration on behalf of third party voter registration organizations, violates the 1st and 14th amendments. Additionally, Senate Bill 7050 only allows county supervisors to accept requests for mail-in ballots from voters or their family members. Plaintiffs argue that this disproportionally effects young and limited-English voters in violation of Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act.

Georgia State Conference of the NAACP et al. v. Raffensperger

Filing Date:

March 25, 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-01259); For new filings see, In Re: Georgia Senate Bill 202 (1:21-MI-55555-JPB)

Issue(s):

Plaintiffs (Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, League of Women Voters of Georgia, Galeo Latino Community Development Fund, Common Cause, and the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe) seek declarative and injunctive relief challenging several provisions of Georgia SB 202 under the 1st, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Restrictions in the bill include new ID requirements for absentee voting, invalidating ballots cast in the wrong precinct, banning non-poll workers from providing food and drink to voters waiting in line, and more.

Gonidakis v. Ohio Redistricting Commission

Filing Date:

February 18, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Ohio

Topics:

Redistricting, Voter Suppression

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (2:22-cv-00773)

Issue(s):

Parties seek declaratory and injunctive relief. They ask the court to declare the current state legislative districts violative of the Constitution, and adopt the second plan previously adopted by the Redistricting Commission.

Hispanic Federation v. Byrd

Filing Date:

May 25, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Florida

Topic:

Voter Suppression

Most Recent Court:

United Stated District Court for the Northern District of Florida (No. 4:23-cv-00218-MW-MAF); Case consolidated with No. 4:23-cv-00215-MW-MAF; For new filings see Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP v. Byrd.

Issue(s):

Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit against several provisions of Florida Senate Bill 7050. They argue that a portion of the law, which prohibits noncitizen volunteers from conducting third party registration on behalf of third party voter registration organizations, violates the 1st and 14th amendments. Additionally, plaintiffs argue that the law violates noncitizens' equal right to contract under federal law.

Houston Justice et al. v. Abbott et al.

Filing Date:

September 7, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Texas

Topics:

Absentee Ballots, Provisional Ballots, Voter ID, Voter Suppression, Voting Rights Act

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (5:21-cv-00848); For new filings see, La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott (No. 5:21-cv-00844)

Issue(s):

Civil rights organizations challenge Senate Bill 1, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief based on the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act. Plaintiffs argue that SB1 disproportionately impacts Black and Latino voters.

In Re: Georgia Senate Bill 202

Filing Date:

December 23, 2021

Status:

pending

State:

Georgia

Topics:

Voter Suppression, Voting Rights Act

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (1:21-MI-55555-JPB)

Issue(s):

In Re: Georgia Senate Bill 202 is the Master Docket file for several consolidated lawsuits regarding Georgia Senate Bill 202. The bill is being challenged as violative of the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the Voting Rights Act. At the heart of the litigation is whether the bill unduly burdens the right to vote, particularly the right to vote of minorities.

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