Major Pending Election Cases

Ohioans for Reproductive Rights v. Ohio Ballot Board

Filing Date:

August 28, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Ohio

Topic:

Ballot Language

Most Recent Court:

Supreme Court of Ohio (No. 2023-1088)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging the ballot language for The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety amendment. Plaintiffs allege that the language drafted by the Ohio Ballot Board "aims improperly to mislead Ohioans" in violation of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. Plaintiffs allege the ballot language mischaracterizes the amendment and does not include all the protections that the amendment would grant Ohioans. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim that ballot language's word choice is meant to sway voters against the amendment by, for example, including the term "unborn child" despite the term appearing nowhere in the ballot measure. Plaintiffs ask the court to order the Ohio Ballot Board to reconvene and adopt the full text of the amendment as the ballot language. Alternatively, the plaintiffs ask the court to order the Ohio Ballot Board to adopt language that properly describes the amendment.

Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Ellison

Filing Date:

August 28, 2023

Status:

pending

State:

Minnesota

Topic:

First Amendment

Most Recent Court:

Dist. Minnesota

Issue(s):

The plaintiffs are challenging Minnesota's election misinformation laws which makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly spread false information with the intent to impede or prevent people from voting if issued within 60 days of an election. The plaintiffs bring forth various arguments alleging that the law violates the freedom of speech under the First Amendment.

Babb v. Nessel

Filing Date:

August 11, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Michigan

Most Recent Court:

Circuit Court for Oakland County (No. 2023-202028-CZ)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging a Michigan law that makes it a misdemeanor to hire a motor to transport voters to the polls. The plaintiffs allege that this violates the fundamental right to vote enshrined in the Michigan constitution.

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.

Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

Filing Date:

July 20, 2023

Status:

resolved

State:

Wisconsin

Topic:

Absentee Ballots

Most Recent Court:

Dane County Circuit Court (2023CV001900)

Issue(s):

Lawsuit challenging of Wisconsin's three absentee voting rules. Specifically, they challenge Wisconsin's absentee ballot witness requirement, the prohibition on drop boxes, and the deadline for curing errors on absentee ballot envelopes. They also are challenging Wisconsin's interpretation of absentee voting as a privilege and not a right. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the absentee voting rules to violate the Wisconsin constitution.

Florida Rights Restoration v. DeSantis

Filing Date:

July 19, 2023

Status:

resolved

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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