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Election Law @ Moritz

Election Law @ Moritz


Litigation

 

NEOCH v. Blackwell

Case Information

Date Filed: October 24, 2006
State: Ohio
Issue: Voter ID
Current Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Case 11-3035, 11-3036, 11-3037)

Issue:

(1) Whether Ohio's voter ID laws are unconstitutional as "confusing, vague, and impossible to apply" in violation of the right to vote; whether the laws are unconstitutional because they apply only to in-person voters and not to absentee voters; whether they are unconstitutional because they may bar voters who do not have required identification from voting on Election Day; whether they are unconstitutional because only some forms of ID must have current address; whether they are unconstitutional as a poll tax. (2) Whether Ohio's provisional-ballot laws are unconstitutionally vague and therefore violate Equal Protection and Due Process.

Status:

First Brief of Appellant for 11-3035/ 11-3036 filed 3/25/11.  Appellant's Brief filed 3/30/11.  Letter Allowing for Filing of Brief Instanter by Ohio Attorney General's Office filed 3/31/11.  Appellee's Brief filed 4/27/11.

Related Cases: State ex rel. Skaggs v. Brunner

Consolidated Case: Ohio Republican Party v. Brunner

District Court Documents

Court of Appeals Documents (on appeal of Attorneys' Fees Award)

State of Ohio's Attempt to Intervene

Secretary of State's Appeal to the Sixth Circuit [Filed by Ohio Attorney General without the Secretary of State's participation]

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Commentaries

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Commentary

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Fifty years ago next month, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Baker v. Carr (1962), inaugurating the “reapportionment revolution” which led to the redrawing of legislative districts across the country. This milestone provides the opportunity to reflect not only on what has been accomplished, but also on what still needs to be done.

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In the News

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Professor Daniel Tokaji, a senior fellow at Election Law @ Moritz, was quoted by The Birmingham News in an article about a local county's crusade to end 47 years of federal government oversight of its election returns.

Shelby County is hoping a federal appeals court will agree that the county no longer needs the U.S. Justice Department to approve changes in the ways elections are conducted because the area has progressed from its discriminatory past. It is unclear whether the case would be the vehicle with which justices of the U.S. Supreme Court would review the constitutionality of Section 5.

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Info & Analysis

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