329 results for 'cat:"Elections"'.
J. McDonald finds the lower court properly determined in a mayoral election case that state election laws do not require a municipal court clerk to personally retrieve all mail-in ballots from drop boxes. The relevant statute, when interpreted alongside other election laws, contemplates a clerk will necessarily delegate certain responsibilities to other employees and government actors. Therefore, the lower court properly denied the mayoral candidate's request for mandamus relief. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Supreme Court, Judge: McDonald, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: SC20737, Categories: elections, Government
Vice Chancellor Fioravanti denies corporate directors a preliminary injunction seeking to stop a company from holding the 2023 edition of the annual stockholders meeting because irreparable injury was not demonstrated; instead, injury had been self-inflicted due to failed strategy.
Court: Delaware Chancery Court, Judge: Fioravanti, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 2023-0477-PAF, Categories: elections, Injunction
J. Miller finds that the trial court properly granted the state's motion to dismiss the voter's and non-profit organization's injunctive and declaratory relief action alleging that Georgia's ballot marking devices do not comply with state law. The non-profit claimed that the QR code generated by the ballot marking devices does not allow voters to verify whether their voting choices were accurately recorded. The non-profit failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted or show that there is any danger of actual injury. The statute does not require that the ballot QR code be readable by a voter and the non-profit fails to dispute that voters can read their voting choices on the printed paper ballot. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Miller, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: A23A0004, Categories: elections
J. Lange grants an organization's motion for a preliminary injunction to restrain government officials from enforcing a "limited public use policy" which restricted petition circulators to "designated areas" apart from the entrances to the Minnehaha County government buildings. The preliminary injunction restrains defendants from enforcing the policy while the matter is pending.
Court: USDC South Dakota, Judge: Lange, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv4075, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: elections, First Amendment
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J. Lambert finds the trial court improperly denied the city commissioner’s request for declaratory and injunctive relief to block a petition a citizen filed to recall her because the city commission held a meeting in January of 2021 that was conducted virtually due to Covid-19, a meeting at which the citizen claimed an ordinance to abolish the city’s police department was made. The citizen’s recall petition, which he filed as the recall committee's chair, was invalid because it was not filed with the city clerk as required by Florida law, and it was legally insufficient in alleging the commissioner’s “malfeasance” for having a meeting which the public could not physically attend, as adequate notice was given that the public would be able to participate in the meeting virtually, which satisfies Florida law regarding open meetings. The trial court’s order against the commissioner is reversed, as are the results of the citizen’s petition and the election to recall the commissioner. Reversed.
Court: Florida Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Lambert, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 23-1573, Categories: elections, Government
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds petitioners are entitled to a partial writ of mandamus to change the title language of the August ballot initiative regarding future changes to the Ohio Constitution. The inclusion of the word "any" is likely to confuse voters about which constitutional amendments are covered by the initiative. Therefore, the ballot initiative language will be changed to remove "any" and prevent confusion regarding whether amendments proposed by the legislature are covered under the initiative.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1928, Categories: Constitution, elections, Government
J. Boasberg partially grants the press access to records related to the grand jury subpoena of former Vice President Pence related to an investigation into the transfer of power following the 2020 election. Proper redaction will preserve grand jury secrecy, and the requested information, once redacted, will not reveal leads to other witnesses or evidence.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Boasberg, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: 1:23mc35, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: elections, Government, Public Record
J. Roberts finds that the district court properly ruled that redistricting plans adopted by Alabama violate the voting rights act by discriminating against Black voters and holds that the state must redraw the maps prior to the next election. Affirmed.
Court: US Supreme Court, Judge: Roberts, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 21-1086, Categories: Civil Rights, elections
J. Chamberlain finds the lower court improperly ordered a potential candidate’s name to be placed on a ballot as a qualified candidate. The candidate filed a petition for judicial review after his qualifications had been challenged, and the Democratic Party Executive Committee disqualified him, and the lower court found in his favor. But the instant court finds the candidate filed his petition for judicial review outside the 15-day mandated filing period, making his petition time-barred. Reversed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Chamberlin, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 2023-EC-00611-SCT, Categories: elections
J. Wise finds that the trial court should have dissolved a temporary injunction because the relevant statute had been amended by the state legislature. Members and candidates in the Libertarian Party had obtained an injunction enjoining the Texas Secretary of the State from rejecting third-party nominees for a general election ballot for not paying a filing fee or submitting a petition in lieu thereof. The change in the law that requires a fee/petition as a prerequisite to nomination nullifies the basis for the temporary injunction. Reversed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wise, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 14-22-00091-CV, Categories: Civil Procedure, elections, Government
Per curiam, the appeals court dismisses this petition for mandamus brought by voters seeking information about the accuracy of voting machines used in an election approving the Magnolia school district’s issuing of $228 million in school bonds. This court lacks jurisdiction to compel election officials in their duties in this case as the relator filed petition after the results were finalized.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 09-23-00128-CV, Categories: Education, elections, Jurisdiction
[Modified.] J. Wiley modifies more than a dozen sentences in a defamation opinion with no change in judgment. The trial court erred in granting Rep. Maxine Waters' anti-SLAPP motion in a defamation case over for an allegation she made during the 2020 election campaign. Evidence shows the possibility that Waters, who said her opponent had been dishonorably discharged from the Navy, willfully disregarded available information to the contrary. Her opponent sufficiently showed that Waters had not taken the minimal steps required to investigate the evidence he claimed showed his discharge had been honorable, so his defamation claim should have been allowed to proceed. Vacated.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Wiley, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: B312937, Categories: Anti-slapp, elections, Defamation
Per curiam, the Supreme Court of Ohio finds the Ohio Ballot Board properly certified the "Right to Reproductive Freedom" constitutional amendment because the ballot initiative includes a single amendment to the Ohio Constitution. Although the amendment includes language regarding abortion, contraception and fertility treatments, the entirety of the bill is related to a single purpose, reproductive rights, and satisfies Ohio election requirements. Therefore, the voters are not entitled to a writ of mandamus to compel a reversal of the board's decision.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 1, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1823, Categories: Constitution, elections
J. Hull finds the trial court properly denied the petitioner’s request for a writ of mandate seeking a manual recount of ballots that had been early “machine read,” by jurisdictions “having the necessary computer capability,” which the petitioner claims violate election code prohibiting accessing and releasing a vote count prior to the day of an election. Election code allows counties to begin scanning ballots on the 10th business day before the election. This is not a process of tabulation. The petitioner has failed to demonstrate any law violation. Other claims lack merit. Affirmed.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Hull, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: C093916, Categories: Administrative Law, elections, Technology
J. Gildea partially reverses the Court of Appeals' decision regarding an administrative rule governing the handling of absentee ballots. While the Court of Appeals correctly held that there was no conflict between state statute and a portion of the rule that prohibits ballot board members from rejecting ballots because they are signed with a nickname, an existing statute conflicts with the portion of the rule which outlines a process for ballot board members to review ballots where the voter's identification number does not match the one on the signature envelope the ballot is sent in.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Gildea, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: A22-0111, Categories: elections, Preemption
J. Anderson affirms the district court's finding that language in a proposed charter amendment that has been deemed unconstitutional is not severable from the rest of the amendment. The purpose of the amendment, which would have overhauled the city's municipal elections, is fundamentally tied to the unconstitutional language, which would have blocked the use of ranked-choice voting unless previously approved by voters in a manner preempted by state statute. Affirmed.
Court: Minnesota Supreme Court, Judge: Anderson, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: A22-1190, Categories: Constitution, elections, Municipal Law
J. Montenegro grants a San Diego County Board of Supervisors' motion to dismiss a registered voter's lawsuit seeking to decertify the November 2020 elections results and to require California to stop using any electronic election machines. The voter lacks standing as she has not shown that she has suffered a concrete injury. She does not specifically allege that she voted in any of the three elections challenged in the complaint and only alleges a general grievance about the voting system, which is insufficient to establish standing under Article III.
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Montenegro, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1651, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: elections
[Consolidated.] Per curiam, the court of appeals finds that the appellate division properly held that a 2014 law seeking to limit town elected officials to eight consecutive years in office was invalid because the law had not gone to a referendum of town voters. Affirmed.
Court: New York Court Of Appeals, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 56, Categories: elections, Municipal Law
J. Rogers upholds the district court's denial of a social welfare group's post-judgment motion to intervene as of right in Campaign Legal Center's challenge to the Federal Election Commission's failure to act on its complaint against the group. Intervention was not required, as the group was not a party to the default judgment in the center's action against the commission.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Rogers, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: 22-5140 , Categories: Civil Procedure, elections
J. Kautz finds that the lower court improperly found that a bylaw adopted by the Uinta County Republican Party governed who could vote in an election and did not violate the state's election code. The fact that the bylaw allowed outgoing Central Committee officers to vote in the 2021 election did, in fact, run afoul of election regulations. Under the law, only certain members who have been elected can vote for committee officers and state committeepersons. Reversed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Kautz, Filed On: May 18, 2023, Case #: S-22-0210, Categories: elections
J. Moss denies a political committee's motion for a preliminary injunction that would allow it to deliver a petition to Ron DeSantis that includes a list of more than 200,000 supporters who want him to run for president. The Federal Election Commission properly determined the petition is an in-kind contribution and contact list, as it includes the email addresses and phone numbers of each listed supporter.
Court: USDC District of Columbia, Judge: Moss, Filed On: May 17, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv3282, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: elections, Government
J. Gleason denies the lieutenant governor's motion to dismiss a foundation's allegations that the government did not provide complete information on deceased voters that the foundation requested. The information provided was missing voter identification numbers and birth dates. The foundation adequately complied with the pre-litigation notice requirement. It is unclear whether the voter identification numbers "constitute
sensitive information that implicates special privacy concerns warranting exclusion from disclosure consistent with the NVRA" (National Voter Registration Act). The matter “requires a more exacting and tailored analysis."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Gleason, Filed On: May 17, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: elections, Public Record
J. Kafker finds a group of individuals' cases challenging the attorney general's refusal to certify their initiative petition, which would have limited campaign contributions to Super PACs, are moot and must be dismissed. Although their filing with the attorney general was timely, they failed to meet the subsequent deadline to file additional signatures.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Kafker, Filed On: May 16, 2023, Case #: SJC-13361 , Categories: Civil Procedure, elections, Government
J. Hagedorn finds the circuit court improperly determined a ballot question regarding an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution codifying Marsy's Law, which reconfigured the respective rights of victims in criminal proceedings and those accused of crimes, failed to meet all the constitutional requirements for formulating and submitting ballot questions to voters. Taken in context of the original meaning of the relevant constitutional provisions, which give the legislature broad authority over the manner of submitting ballot questions to voters, the Marsy's Law ballot question was not "fundamentally counterfactual" to its intended purpose such that voters were misled by it, so the advocates' challenge to the question on that basis and the argument that it should have been split into more than one question fail. The ballot question was not submitted to the people in violation of the state constitution, and it was validly ratified. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court, Judge: Hagedorn, Filed On: May 16, 2023, Case #: 2020AP002003, Categories: Constitution, elections, Government