69 results for 'cat:"Elections" AND cat:"Government"'.
J. Garrett finds the ballot title prepared for Legislative Referral 403 (2024) (LR 403), which would amend ORS chapter 254 to require “ranked choice voting,” is inaccurate. The ballot title caption for a referred state measure must identify the subject matter of the measure. Referred to the Attorney General for modification.
Court: Oregon Supreme Court, Judge: Garrett, Filed On: May 16, 2024, Case #: S070879, Categories: elections, government
J. DuBose denies a group of residents’ motion for a preliminary injunction in the civil rights lawsuit against the town council members. The residents allege the town has been operating a “hand-me-down governance” system at least since the mid-1960s, where no regular municipal election for the mayor or council have been held. The council members held a secret meeting where they reappointed themselves in order to prevent the residents from electing a majority Black council. The residents are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim, which would satisfy the first prerequisite for the preliminary injunctive relief, but at this point of proceedings they have failed to show they will suffer an irreparable harm. The court scheduled a bench trial to further address the case.
Court: USDC Southern District of Alabama, Judge: DuBose, Filed On: May 10, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv127, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government
J. Biggs orders that the NAACP in North Carolina cannot use five witnesses it proposed in this ongoing voting rights suit against the state’s board of elections. The NAACP moves for clarification, but the magistrate judge’s order clearly stated who is and is not allowed to be considered as a witness, and these five are either specifically named or inferred in that list. Thus, the NAACP objects to the order and is not seeking clarification. Adding or replacing any witnesses would prejudice the process.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: May 4, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv1034, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government, Experts
J. Haynes finds the district court properly dismissed the civil rights complaint. County employees alleged the constable, upon his election, instituted certain reforms to ensure he would continue to be elected, including retaliating against employees who impeded his campaign functions. Retaliation allegedly included various actions from transfer to termination. The employees fail to show that alleged First Amendment violations resulted from an official county policy. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Haynes , Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 22-20627, Categories: elections, government, Employment Retaliation
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly dismissed the voters’ suit challenging Texas’ use of electronic voting machines. The generalized grievance that all voters’ votes are made vulnerable by the machines does not confer standing. Though certain of the voters ran for office, and one currently holds office, candidate-specific injuries exist nowhere in the complaint. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 23-10936, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government
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J. Dever partially grants the North Carolina Green Party’s motion for attorney’s fees and costs in ongoing litigation against the state’s board of elections after it initially failed to qualify the party and allow candidates to run in the 2022 election. The North Carolina Democratic Party and affiliates became intervenors for the board. The party correctly accuses them of frivolously hampering its efforts to get the required number of signatures for its candidates to run and is awarded partial fees and costs based on this action alone.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv276, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government, Attorney Fees
[Consolidated.] J. Schroeder denies the North Carolina Board of Elections’ motion to dismiss several voter advocacy groups’ complaint that a particular bill allegedly threatens voter protections. Currently, North Carolina practices non-forwardable voter registration verification, meaning when someone registers to vote and votes on the same day, they are sent a card to the address under which they registered. Then, if the state board of elections does not receive said card, the voter’s ballot is removed from the official count. The advocacy groups have shown here, and in other recent litigation, plausible evidence that the potential harm caused to voters by continuing this process without giving them notice and a chance to prove their residency is likely more harmful than the possible injury to the government if the process remains the same.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Schroeder, Filed On: April 2, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv878, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government
J. Rushing finds the lower court properly denied the requested preliminary injunction. The pair of voters argued the state senate districts drawn in 2023 violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, claiming it effectively disenfranchised Black voters. The voters sought an injunction erasing the current districts and allowing them to draw the lines before the 2024 election cycle. The proximity to the election and not showing the extraordinary circumstances necessary to justify disrupting the status quo before trial makes the injunction not feasible. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Rushing, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 23-1095, Categories: elections, government
[Consolidated.] J. Biggs denies the state board of elections’ motion for summary judgment in an ongoing suit brought by the NAACP for alleged voting rights violations. While the board argues that the NAACP fails to demonstrate that things like requiring voters to have photo identification has racially discriminatory intent, the NAACP is correct that such requirements have historically been dsicriminatory. This and other genuine disputes of fact still exist.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: March 13, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv1034, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government
J. Steward finds that the lower court properly denied a motion brought by an elected constable who was vacated from office for allegedly not timely paying the security bond. Because the constable filed his official bond before he took office, it was not untimely, so the certification of vacancy by Gov. Ivey was in error. However, the constable framed the issue as that of a conflict between two statutes, but his argument is incorrect. The trial court can't be faulted for rejecting the constable's sole argument. Affirmed.
Court: Alabama Supreme Court, Judge: Stewart, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: SC-2023-0496, Categories: elections, government
Per curiam, the U.S. Supreme Court finds that the Colorado Supreme Court improperly excluded Donald Trump from the 2024 election ballot for inciting a fatal and destructive riot after he lost the 2020 election because only Congress has the power to declare someone ineligible for becoming president under the fourteenth amendment. Reversed.
Court: US Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: March 4, 2024, Case #: 23-719, Categories: Constitution, elections, government
J. Henderson finds that the superior court properly determined that the winning candidate in a 2022 state legislature election is eligible to serve. Representative Jennifer Armstrong “met the constitutional requirements, including the three-year state residency requirement, for serving in the legislature.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: S-18619, Categories: elections, government
J. Biggs overrules the North Carolina NAACP’s objection to a magistrate judge’s order denying the NAACP’s motion to reopen discovery in this case challenging a state Senate bill regarding voter identification requirements. The NAACP claims the bill is unconstitutional and discriminatory and made a motion for a brief period in which to reopen and update discovery in light of newly admitted parties. The magistrate judge necessarily denied the motion after allowing the NAACP to propose it to the state board parties first, who denied it. Also, the NAACP claims that the state board parties are obligated to present all public records concerning the Senate bill, the decision about which is given back to the magistrate judge.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Biggs, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv1034, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, elections, government
J. Dick, ruling in a 91-page decision after a seven-day nonjury trial in December 2023, finds the state House and Senate electoral maps enacted by the Louisiana legislature violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Black litigants satisfied their burden of proving the electoral maps drawn by state legislators unlawfully dilutes black voting strength.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Dick, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv178, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio denies the petitioner's request for a writ of prohibition to remove Steven Kraus from the March 2024 primary ballot as a candidate for the Ohio House of Representatives. Although he was convicted of a felony for theft from an elderly person in 2015, the position for which he is running does not involve control or management of any state agency or political subdivision and, therefore, he is not barred from running under the state's disqualification statute.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 29, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-290, Categories: Civil Procedure, elections, government
J. Dever denies two voters from a majority-Black Senate district in northeast North Carolina their motion for an extraordinary, mandatory preliminary injunction, which they claim is necessary to then establish a racially gerrymandered district in order to abide by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The voters allege that the General Assembly violated the Act precisely because it did not engage in race-based district creation, disadvantaging Black voters in majority-white state. However, as the 2024 elections are already under way, the two voters fail to show that the Voting Rights Act needs this injunction to initiate race-based grouping of voters, and doing so would likely confuse voters and create chaos that could compromise election integrity.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Dever, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 4:23cv193, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government
J. Schroeder partially grants motions for preliminary injunction put forth by the Democratic National Committee and other groups and individuals across two identical, but not consolidated, cases in the interest of protecting same-day voter registrations. Currently, North Carolina practices non-forwardable voter registration verification, meaning when someone registers to vote and votes on the same day, they are sent a card to the address under which they registered. Then, if the state board of elections does not receive said card, the voter’s ballot is removed from the official count. The verification process is essential to protecting legitimate elections. However, the national committee has shown that the potential harm caused to voters by continuing this process without giving them notice and a chance to prove their residency is likely more egregious than the possible harm to the government if the process remains the same. Therefore, the state is enjoined from removing same-day voters’ ballots until they have been given notice and have a chance to verify their addresses.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Schroeder, Filed On: January 21, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv862, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government, Injunction
J. Bailey grants, in part, the petition for a writ of mandamus to order city commissioners to proceed with a recall election. The relator contends that he turned in petitions for two commissioners to be recalled, but the city has not taken action to schedule the recall election. The court concludes that city is directed to schedule a special election to recall two commissioners within 15 to 30 days. The petition is denied with respect as to Judge Hullum because full relief has been afforded in ordering the recall election to proceed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Bailey, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 11-23-00283-CV, Categories: elections, government
J. Robinson finds that while the Danbury town clerk exceeded the scope of her authority when she determined only the second slate of Independent Party candidates for mayor in the November 2023 election should be placed on the ballot, the trial court's ultimate decision to place neither slate of candidates on the ballot was procedurally correct. The party did not functionally endorse a single set of candidates as required by state law. The first slate of candidates should have been approved by the clerk because an ad in the local newspaper satisfied statutory notice requirements, but the submission of a second set of certified candidates by the Independent Party effectively prevented it from endorsing a unified slate and required the trial court to remove both sets from the ballot. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Supreme Court, Judge: Robinson, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: SC20907, Categories: Civil Procedure, elections, government
Per curiam, the Texas Supreme Court finds that Justice John Devine will be eligible to run for reelection to the Texas Supreme Court if he can fix defects in his ballot application. Opponent Brian Walker, who currently sits on the 2nd Court of Appeals, argues that some of Devine's signatures on his application are invalid, but his challenge to the signature petition was "not brought promptly" and precedent requires that "the challenged candidate first be given an opportunity to cure a defect in his petition signatures" before having his application rejected.
Court: Texas Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 24-0016 , Categories: elections, government, Judiciary
J. Theofanis dismisses Williamson County’s lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attempting to withhold public access to ballots and vote records for 22 months after election day. Paxton ruled that this information must be made available for public inspection during the 22-month preservation period. There is no live controversy between the parties as the information requestors in the underlying Public Information Act case have either received the information they requested or have withdrawn their requests.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Theofanis, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 03-23-00507-CV, Categories: elections, government, Jurisdiction
J. Alley denies mandamus relief to a Loving County sheriff candidate who argued the local Republican Party chair had improperly failed to disqualify another candidate based on his lack of police or military service. But the other candidate had in fact worked as a peace officer, and while his license was put on administrative hold, but details of that hold are “rather cryptic,” and the candidate seeking relief cannot establish that the other candidate’s license is “inactive, revoked, or subject to any disciplinary action.”
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Alley, Filed On: January 9, 2024, Case #: 08-23-00356-CV, Categories: elections, government
J. Nugent grants the Ohio Secretary of State's motion for summary judgment, ruling all of the changes to election procedures contained in House Bill 458 are minor in nature and, therefore, do not constitute an undue burden on voters that would render the bill unconstitutional. Although only photo IDs may be used for in-person voting moving forward, evidence indicates the majority of registered voters already have a valid driver's license. Furthermore, the elimination of early, in-person voting the Monday before Election Day does not impact a large number of voters, especially considering the voting hours were reallocated elsewhere.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Nugent, Filed On: January 8, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv26, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, elections, government
J. Webster denies two voting rights organizations their motion for summary judgment after the state board of elections passed a bill upholding an old statute that the organizations say is racist. They argue that the statute violates equal protection rights because it was initially written in 1877 to be racially discriminatory toward the voting populace and that since then, the statute’s discrimination has not fundamentally changed. They argue that this law continues to disproportionately effect Black voters and that it also violates due process. A bill from 2023 altered the statute to include a scienter requirement, meaning only people charged with felonies who vote knowing they have violated the statute can be prosecuted, but the organizations say this does little to change their stance. However, because anyone who votes inappropriately but doesn’t know that they have done so will not be considered to have broken the voting law, the organizations’ motion for summary judgment is denied as moot.
Court: USDC Middle District of North Carolina, Judge: Webster, Filed On: January 2, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv876, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government, Prisoners' Rights
J. Flanagan grants the U.S. Attorney General’smotion to dismiss allegations of voter suppression brought by a citizen who claims the attorney’s appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel undermined her right to vote for Donald Trump. The citizen also requests an injunction to stop the attorney from appointing any other special counsel who would prosecute Donald Trump. However, the citizen has failed to draw a connection between the attorney’s appointment and any concrete injury to herself. Also, she cannot sue one party in defense of the legal rights of someone other than herself.
Court: USDC Eastern District of North Carolina, Judge: Flanagan, Filed On: December 28, 2023, Case #: 5:23cv372, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, government, Jurisdiction
J. Karofsky enjoins the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current legislative electoral maps, which violate the state constitution and must be redrawn before the 2024 elections. The districts must be composed as “contiguous territory,” and if that doesn’t happen, the state high court will adopt remedial maps based on the criteria and process.
Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court, Judge: Karofsky, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 2023AP1399-OA, Categories: elections, government
J. Huffman finds the trial court properly granted the Ohio Secretary of State's motion to dismiss an employment-related action. Although the former board of elections employee's lawsuit deals with other members' failure to adhere to election procedures, it is essentially a wrongful termination suit in which the secretary has no interest. However, the lower court improperly dismissed the action against the county. The county's failure to include the argument the employee stated a claim on which no relief could be granted in their first dismissal motion prevented it from filing a second, successive motion following the transfer from Franklin County to Champaign County. Reversed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Huffman, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4688, Categories: elections, Employment, government
J. Berger grants the West Virginia Secretary of State's and the West Virginia Republican Party's motions to dismiss the Texas tax attorney and Republican presidential candidate's challenge to former President Donald J. Trump's placement on the 2024 West Virginia primary ballot. Since "he is not actually campaigning for the Republican nomination for President, he has no concrete and particularized competitive injury based on former President Trump's appearance on the ballot." Thus, the Texas tax attorney lacks standing and the case is dismissed.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Berger, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv598, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: elections, government, Jurisdiction
[Consolidated.] J. Haikala grants, in part, the county commission and its individual commissioners’ motions to dismiss claims brought by group of voters alleging the redistricting plan constitutes racial gerrymandering. The commissioners argue they should be dismissed in their official capacities because “local government units can be sued directly.” Therefore, the commissioners in their official capacities are dismissed because a jury could find the action redundant and confusing. The voters’ motion for preliminary injunction is denied and the claims against the commission will proceed. The parties are ordered to meet and confer before the scheduling conference.
Court: USDC Northern District of Alabama , Judge: Haikala, Filed On: December 19, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv443, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, elections, government