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Supreme Court: NVRA Pre-empts Arizona's Proof of Citizenship Law

Jun. 17 (11:55 AM) - In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that the NVRA preempts an Arizona law requiring documentation of citizenship to accompany voter registration forms. The case is Arizona v. The Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.

Wisconsin Appeals Court Reverses Lower Court in Voter ID Case

May. 30 (12:14 PM) - In an opinion released today in League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Walker, a three-judge panel of Wisconsin's 4th District Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the lower court, which issued a permanent injunction last year blocking the state's voter ID law from taking effect. Contrary to the lower court's decision, the court of appeals determined that the plaintiffs had not met their burden of proving that the voter ID law violated their rights under the Wisconsin Constitution. Wisconsin's 2nd District Court of Appeals has yet to rule on the same issue in Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP v. Walker. Two cases involving federal constitutional issues are also pending in U.S. District Courts: Frank v. Walker and Jones v. Deininger.

Ohio Secretary of State Releases Report on Voter Fraud

May. 23 (5:24 PM) - Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted released a report today on voter fraud in Ohio during the 2012 general election. In a press release, Husted stated that while voter fraud does exist in Ohio, "it is not an epidemic." According to the report, 135 voter fraud cases have been referred to law enforcement for possible prosecution. Twenty of these cases involved voters attempting to vote in Ohio and another state. The report shows that 115 cases were referred to local Ohio county prosecutors. According to Husted as quoted in the Columbus Dispatch, most of these cases involved voters attempting to vote twice within the state, and in a "majority" of instances, only one vote was counted.

Ohio House Committee Recommends Upholding Landis' Election Victory

May. 8 (3:52 PM) - Yesterday, an Ohio House of Representatives committee recommended 5-4 that the Ohio House uphold the election victory of Republican State Representative Al Landis over Democratic challenger Josh O'Farrell. In February, the Ohio Supreme Court sent the O'Farrell v. Landis record to the House for consideration. According to an article in the Canton Repository, committee chairman and State Representative Matt Huffman said he expects a vote by the full House later this month.

Conference: Under the Influence? Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Campaign Finance

Feb. 27 (3:07 PM) - The Baldy Center at SUNY Buffalo is sponsoring a conference March 8-9, 2013 on the interaction between lobbying and campaign finance.  MIchael Halberstam of SUNY Buffalo Law School and Election Law @ Moritz Senior Fellow Daniel Tokaji are co-organizers.  Papers from the conference are to be published in Election Law Journal.  More information on the conference is available here.

Federal Court Rules that Louisiana Violated NVRA

Jan. 25 (9:21 AM) - U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Malazzo found that Louisiana violated the National Voter Registration Act by not providing voter registration services to all of its public assistance agency clients. The judge found that the state's subsequent modification of its policies complied with the Act and issued a permanent injunction directing the state to maintain these revised policies. The judge's ruling followed a trial held in October. The court retained jurisdiction over the case, Scott v. Schedler, for a year.

Ohio Election Contest

Dec. 27 (1:00 PM) - Democrat Josh O'Farrell, who challenged Republican incumbent Al Landis for an Ohio House of Representatives seat, recently filed a petition in the Ohio Supreme Court contesting the election results. The Tuscarawas County Board of Elections declared Landis the winner earlier this month. O'Farrell's petition alleges multiple irregularities with respect to absentee and provisional voting and asks for a recount in certain precincts. The case is O'Farrell v. Landis.

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