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The latest election law developments from across the country...last updated July 29 (8:56 AM).

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IN Supreme Court upholds voter ID law

June 30 (10:25 AM)

The Indiana Supreme Court today (6/30) entered an opinion in the case of League of Women Voters v. Rokita ruling that the state’s voter identification law is constitutional. [See EL@M case page and Indianapolis Star article for more information.]

New NY case citing violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

June 28 (3:35 PM)

The New York State Conference of the NAACP and other civic groups have filed a complaint against the New York State Board of Election seeking a declaratory judgment that the overvote practice and procedure results or will result in the denial of NY citizens’ right to vote on account of race or color, in violation of Section 2 of the VRA. [See EL@M case page and New York Times article for additional information.]

Georgia Challenges Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act

June 28 (11:14 AM)

The State of Georgia has filed this complaint against AG Eric Holder. The complaint seeks judicial preclearance of its voter verification process under Section 5 and, in the alternative, asserts that Section 5 is unconstitutional. DOJ had denied preclearance of the verification process last year and declined to withdraw its objection earlier this year. The case is worth watching not only because of the constitutional claim, but also because of the relative dearth of precedent on how Section 5 should be applied to election administration practices like this one. According to this story, Georgia's Attorney General Thurbert Baker refused to file suit, leading Governor Sunny Perdue to appoint a special attorney general to file on the state's behalf. [See EL@M case page for additional information]
 

Another complaint filed challenging the Voting Rights Act

May 3 (2:22 PM)

Shelby County, Alabama has filed a complaint (4/27) with the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia challenging the constitutionality of Sections 4(b) and 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  This complaint comes on the heels of a case originating from North Carolina (LaRoque v. Holder - see EL@M case page) addressing questions left open by the Supreme Court's decision in Northwest Austin. [See EL@M case page for additional information.]

Complaint filed challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act

April 7 (1:00 PM)

A complaint was filed today (4/7) by the Center for Individual Rights on behalf of a group of North Carolina voters claiming that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 violates the 5th, 14th and 15th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.  According to the press release from CIR, this suit, LaRoque v. Holder, addresses a question left open by the Supreme Court's recent decision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder.  [See EL@M case page for additional information.]

IN Supreme Court grants transfer in LWV v. Rokita

January 25 (2:29 PM)

The Indiana Supreme Court today (1/25) entered an order granting transfer and assuming jurisdiction in the case of League of Women Voters v. Rokita.  The Court granted the transfer petitions of both the Appellants and the Appellee, and oral argument has been scheduled for March 4, 2010.   [See EL@M case page for additional information.]

U.S. Supreme Court decides major campaign finance case

January 21 (5:17 PM)

The Supreme Court today (1/21) entered an opinion in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission regarding campaign contributions.  EL@M generally limits its news coverage to cases involving regulation of the voting process itself (casting, counting, and recounting ballots, as well as registering to vote). Thus, for news coverage of this new campaign finance case, see Rick Hasen's Election Law blog. EL@M opinion commentary, however, covers all aspects of election law, including campaign finance, and thus expect to see some commentary on this important case in our opinion column.

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Opinion

Doe v. Reed a Disappointment on Several Fronts


Dale A. OesterleJuly 2 (Dale A. Oesterle)

The Supreme Court published Doe v Reed last week, at the very end of its 2009-2010 term, and the case was a major disappointment in many ways. At issue in the case was a challenge to the Public Records Act of the State of Washington that, according to the Washington Secretary of State, forced state officials to disclose publicly the contents of petitions for a referendum on the recently passed and signed State of Washington law. The law extends benefits to same-sex couples. The referendum demand, which gathered sufficient petition signatures, put the law to a popular vote. The people of Washington voted 53% to 47% to sustain the law. [Read Comment]

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Edward B. Foley
Free & Fair is a collection of writings by Edward B. Foley, one of the nation's preeminent experts on election law.