Major Pending Election Cases

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.

Braun v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

Filing Date:

September 15, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

Wisconsin

Topic:

National Voter Registration Act

Most Recent Court:

Waukesha County Circuit Court

Issue(s):

The WEC approved the use of the National Voter Registration Form. The plaintiff challenges this approval arguing that the form is missing several components required by state law and contains components prohibited by state law.

Republican National Committee v. Chapman

Filing Date:

September 1, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

Pennsylvania

Topic:

Mail-In Voting

Most Recent Court:

Pennsylvania Supreme Court (No. 100 MAP 2022)

Issue(s):

The lawsuit challenges the authority of county boards to develop and implement mail in ballot cure procedures. Plaintiffs argue that Pennsylvania law does not set a procedure to cure mail in ballots and that no law has been enacted allowing for a cure procedure.

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.

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:

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (No. 22-16490)

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.

League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

Filing Date:

July 22, 2022

Status:

pending

State:

Wisconsin

Topic:

Absentee Ballots

Most Recent Court:

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (No. 2024AP000166)

Issue(s):

Under Wisconsin law a voter's absentee ballot must accompanied by a witness certificate containing the witness' address, the ballot may not be counted if the address is missing. The plaintiffs ask for clarification on what constitutes "missing" and contend that partial witness addresses are not "missing".

Carey v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

Filing Date:

July 22, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

Wisconsin

Topics:

Absentee Ballots, Voting Rights Act

Most Recent Court:

Western District of Wisconsin (No. 22-cv-402)

Issue(s):

The lawsuit challenges the WEC's new guideline that voters must their own absentee ballots without any assistance, which includes place the ballot in the mail. Plaintiffs allege violations of section 105 of the VRA, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and title 2 of the ADA.

Before the Kentucky State Board of Elections

Filing Date:

July 18, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

Kentucky

Topic:

Ballot Design

Issue(s):

Complaint filed with the Kentucky Boards of Elections asking for relief regarding two practices that may cause voter confusion. First, the complaint that the ballots presented on electronic voting systems look so different from printed sample ballots that voters are likely to be confused. Additionally, voter instruction cards that County Clerks and County Attorneys General are required to prepare often fail to meet the legal standard of providing voters with “instructions as to the proper method of voting by the use of the voting equipment, and instructions as to the proper method of casting a write-in vote.”

603 Forward v. Scanlan

Filing Date:

June 17, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

New Hampshire

Topic:

Voter ID

Most Recent Court:

Hillsborough Superior Court, Southern District (226-2022-CV-00233)

Issue(s):

This lawsuit challenges SB 418, which requires voters who register to vote on the day of the election, but who do not provide a valid photo ID, to mail in documentation verifying their identity within seven days or have their vote discarded. The lawsuit argues that the law violated the New Hampshire Constitution.

Simon v. DeWine

Filing Date:

April 15, 2022

Status:

resolved

State:

Ohio

Topic:

Redistricting

Most Recent Court:

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (4:22-cv-00612)

Issue(s):

Whether the defendants violated the 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act in drawing Congressional districts that allegedly deprive Black voters of an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of choice

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