Major Pending Election Cases

Arizona v. Cochise County

Filing Date:

March 7, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Arizona

Most Recent Court:

Superior Court of Arizona in Cochise County

Issue(s):

Lawsuit brought by the Arizona Attorney General against three Cochise County Supervisors and the Cochise County Recorder. The agreement gives the Recorder many of the election powers and duties conferred by statute upon the Cochise County Board of Supervisors. The Attorney General alleges that this transferal of power is in violation of the Arizona Constitution and law.

Vote.org v. Byrd

Filing Date:

March 16, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Florida

Topic:

Civil Rights Act

Most Recent Court:

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (No. 23-13727)

Issue(s):

The lawsuit challenges Florida's wet signature requirement. Florida statutes require individuals registering to vote to submit a voter application with an original signature. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants have interpreted this to require a signature on paper, and that applications have been rejected if they have been submitted via email or fax or have been submitted with an electronic signature. The plaintiffs contend that this interpretation violates the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act and ask the court to enjoin the defendants from requiring a wet signature for voter registration applications. Case name has been changed to "Disability Rights Florida, et al v. Secretary, State of Florida" on appeal.

League of Women Voters of Florida v. Byrd

Filing Date:

April 26, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Florida

Topic:

National Voter Registration Act

Most Recent Court:

United Stated District Court for the Northern District of Florida (No. 4:23-cv-00165-AW-MAF)

Issue(s):

This lawsuit challenges Florida's statewide voter registration application. The plaintiffs argue that it violates the NVRA's minimum requirements for specifying voter eligibility requirements, as Florida's application does not inform voters that eligibility requirements differ based on "a returning citizen's conviction, the state of conviction, and the sentence received,” and does not explain when an individual’s right to vote has been restored. Plaintiffs also point out that while Florida's eligibility requirements have changed in the past five years, the application was approved in 2013 and has not been changed since, making it severely out of date. Plaintiffs ask the court to declare the applications to be in violation of the NVRA, prevent Byrd from using the applications, and order Byrd to adopt an application that complies with the NVRA.

One Person One Vote v. LaRose

Filing Date:

May 12, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Ohio

Topic:

Ballot Language

Most Recent Court:

Supreme Court of Ohio (No. 2023-0630)

Issue(s):

Relators ask the Ohio Supreme Court to issue a writ of mandamus directing Ohio Secretary of State LaRose to remove a constitutional amendment proposal, S.J.2, from the August 8, 2023 special election ballot. S.J.2 would increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments from 50% to 60% of the vote for future elections. Relators argue that Ohio law does not allow for statewide special elections in August.

One Person One Vote v. Ohio Ballot Board

Filing Date:

May 23, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Ohio

Topic:

Ballot Language

Most Recent Court:

Supreme Court of Ohio (No. 2023-0630)

Issue(s):

Relators challenge the adopted ballot language for Senate Joint Resolution 2, a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that would raise the threshold necessary to pass any future constitutional amendments from 50% to 60%. They argue that the defendant used language that is inaccurate and incomplete and violates the Ohio Constitution. Relators also argue that the amendment's title is not impartial and creates prejudice in favor of the Amendment. They seek a writ of mandamus compelling the defendants to reconvene and rewrite the language of the amendment.

League of Women Voters of Florida v. Moody

Filing Date:

May 24, 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-00216-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. The lawsuit specifically challenges portions of the law that requires third party voter registration organizations to provide a "receipt" to each voter registration applicant containing identifying information, reduces the days to return a voter registration application, and requires organizations to reregister every cycle.

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

Filing Date:

May 24, 2023

Status:

resolved

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.

Hispanic Federation v. Byrd

Filing Date:

May 25, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Florida

Topic:

Voter Suppression

Issue(s):

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. 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.

Vanness v. Aguilar

Filing Date:

June 29, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Nevada

Topic:

First Amendment

Most Recent Court:

District Court of Nevada (2:23-cv-01009-JCM-VCF)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging Nevada SB 406, which is meant to protect election officials from intimidation and election interference. The plaintiffs argue that the protections are overbroad and violate the 1st amendment. They ask the court to preclude the defendants from enforcing SB 406.

Harris County v. Texas

Filing Date:

July 6, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Texas

Most Recent Court:

Travis County Distict Court

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging Texas Senate Bill 1750, which abolishes the elections administrator position in Harris county and gives their responsibilities to the county clerk and county tax assessor, two elected officials. The plaintiff argues that the law directly targets Harris county as the law prohibits counties with populations greater than 3.5 million people from creating the office of elections administrator, and Harris county is the only county in Texas with a population greater than 3.5 million. The plaintiff argues that SB 1750 violates several provisions of the Texas constitution.

CASE TRACKER