OSU Navigation Bar

Election Law @ Moritz Home Page

Election Law @ Moritz

Election Law @ Moritz


Latest Information & Analysis   

Supreme Court Finds Partisan Gerrymandering Claims to be Non-Justiciable Political Questions

Jun. 27 (4:35 PM) - In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on Thursday determining that claims of partisan gerrymandering are political questions beyond the reach of the federal courts. The opinion resolved disputes originating in North Carolina and Maryland, in the cases of Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisek.

Supreme Court Dismisses Virginia Redistricting Case for Lack of Standing

Jun. 17 (5:00 PM) - In a 5-4 decision on redistricting, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the appeal filed by the Virginia House of Delegates. The Court found that the House of Delegates lacked standing to represent the state\'s or its own interests. The case is Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill.

U.S. District Judge Orders that Individuals Flagged by Georgia Database Can Vote in Midterms

Nov. 2 (4:00 PM) - Ruling on the plaintiffs\' emergency motion, a U.S. District Judge ordered that individuals flagged for potential citizenship issues by a Georgia database can still vote in the midterms. The judge\'s order set forth specific ways these indivduals can vote. The case is Georgia Coalition for the People\'s Agenda v. Kemp.

Sixth Circuit Orders that Votes of Purged Ohio Voters Will Count in Midterms

Oct. 31 (3:30 PM) - A divided panel of Sixth Circuit judges granted the plaintiffs\' emergency motion, ruling that county boards of elections must count provisional ballots cast by voters who had been purged from the voter rolls for not voting during a 6-year period. The decision temporarily blocks a lower court ruling that the purges were legal. The state indicated that it will not appeal the Sixth Circuit decision. The case is Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute v. Husted.

District Judge Rules in Favor of State in Ohio Voter Registration Case

Oct. 11 (1:30 PM) - Ruling on forms used by the state of Ohio to remove inactive voters from the voter rolls, U.S. District Judge George Smith found one minor violation of the National Voter Registration Act, but otherwise ruled that the forms did not violate federal law. The case is Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute v. Husted.

Federal Court Finds Partisan Gerrymandering in North Carolina

Aug. 28 (8:45 AM) - On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, a divided three-judge court in the Middle District of North Carolina found a Congressional redistricting plan to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. The case is Common Cause v. Rucho.

Supreme Court Upholds Most Texas Districts in Racial Gerrymandering Case

Jun. 25 (12:30 PM) - In a 5-4 decision that reversed the ruling of the District Court, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the drawing of most of the disputed Texas districts did not violate the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act. The case is Abbott v. Perez.

more info & analysis...

Recount Resources

Election Law @ Moritz has assembled a set of resources concerning the topic of elections going into overtime.

Swing State Focus

Media Hotline: (614) 292-0283

EL@M in the News

Daniel P. Tokaji

This is why US election ballots routinely go missing

Professor Dan Tokaji was quoted in USA Today about the prevalence of missing election ballots.

 

"Most of the time, it just goes unreported because it doesn't affect the result," Tokaji said. 


more EL@M in the news...

Current Litigation

New Georgia Project v. Raffensperger

State: Georgia
Issue: Due to the issues presented by the coronavirus pandemic, the plaintiffs are challenging four election policies that they argue risk disenfranchising thousands of Georgia voters:

(1) the lack of standards governing the process for notifying voters regarding incomplete absentee ballot applications;

(2) the failure to provide prepaid postage on absentee ballots;

(3) the rejection of absentee ballots received after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day; and

(4) Georgia’s prohibition on third-party assistance for absentee ballots.

 

more litigation...