Major Pending Litigation:
(Courtesy of The Ohio State University- Mortiz College of Law: Election Law @ Mortiz )
National:
LaRoque v. Holder/Nix v. Holder
EL@M Case Page
Date Filed: 4/7/10
State: National
Topic(s): Voting Rights Act
Current Court: U.S. Supreme Court
Case Issue:
Whether Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 exceeds Congress' authority under the Fifth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Latest Status:
District Court opinion issued 12/22/11. Court of Appeals vacates opinion of District Court 5/18/12. Petition for certiorari filed 7/23/12.
Alabama:
Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder
Date Filed: 4/27/10
State: Alabama
Whether Sections 4(b) and 5 of the Voting Rights Act are unconstitutional.
Appellee Attorney General Holder brief filed 12/1/11. Amicus Brief of New York Law School Racial Justice Project filed 12/7/11. Appellant Shelby County, Alabama filed 12/15/11. Court of Appeals Opinion and Order filed 5/18/12. Petition for certiorari filed 7/20/12.
Florida:
U.S. v. Florida, Detzner
Date Filed: 6/12/12
State: Florida
Topic(s): State Voter Registration Databases, Voter Fraud, Voter Eligibility Current Court: U.S. District Court for Northern District of Florida
Whether Florida's purge of state voter rolls violates Section 8 of the NVRA.
Complaint filed 6/12/12. Answer filed 7/3/12.
Mi Familia Vota Education Fund v. Detzner
Date Filed: 6/8/12
Topic(s): Voter Eligibility, Voter Fraud, State Voter Registration Databases Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
Whether the Florida Secretary of State violated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by purging voters off the state's voting rolls.
Complaint filed 6/8/12. Motion to Dismiss filed 7/13/12. First Amended Complaint filed 7/27/12.
Arcia v. Detzner
Date Filed: 6/19/12
Topic(s): Voter Fraud, Voter Eligibility, State Voter Registration Databases Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Whether Florida's "voter purge" violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by having a disproportionate effect on African-American and Hispanic citizens.
Complaint filed 6/19/12. Answer filed 7/12/12.
Florida v. US
Date Filed: 8/1/11
Topic(s): Voter Registration, Early Voting
Current Court: The United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Whether certain sections of Florida's newly-passed voting reforms violates Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Complaint filed 8/01/11. Answer filed 10/19/11. Motion for Summary Judgment filed 5/23/12. Opinion issued 8/16/12.
League of Women Voters of Florida v. Detzner
Date Filed: 12/15/11
Topic(s): Voter Registration
Current Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida
Whether Florida's new law regarding voter registration activities (1) violates the First Amendment by unlawfully restricting citizens' right to free speech and assembly; (2) is unconstitutionally vague; (3) violates the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; or (4) violates section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Complaint filed 12/15/11. Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed 12/19/11. Preliminary Injunction Granted 5/31/12. Preliminary Injunction Appealed 7/2/12. Joint Motion for Permanent Injunction filed 8/10/12. Permanent Injunction granted 8/30/12.
Louisiana:
Ferrand v. Schedler
Date Filed: 4/19/11
State: Louisiana
Topic(s): Voter Registration, Voter Eligibility
Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Whether Louisiana has complied with the obligations imposed on states by the federal government in the NVRA.
Complaint filed 4/19/11. Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Denied 5/3/12. Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment filed 7/3/12.
Ohio:
NEOCH v. Husted
Date Filed: 10/24/06
State: Ohio
Topic(s): Voter ID
Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Original Issues: (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.
Current Issue: Whether an April 2010 Consent Decree requiring that provisional ballots improperly voted as a result of poll worker error still be counted is valid under Ohio law.
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 Ohio Supreme Court action dismissed 5/11/12. Oral argument on validity of Consent Decree held 6/27/12. Opinion and Order Upholding the Consent Decree filed 7/9/12. Notice of Appeal filed 7/19/12. Plenary Opinion and Order issued 8/27/12. Notice of Sixth Circuit Opinion on Attorney's Fees filed 8/31/12.
Pennsylvania:
Applewhite v. Pennsylvania
Date Filed: 5/1/12
State: Pennsylvania
Current Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Whether Pennsylvania's newly passed state voter ID law violates the Pennsylvania Constitution and whether or not the law can go into effect for the 2012 general election.
Petition for Review filed 5/1/12. Trial scheduled for 7/25/12. Motion for preliminary injunction denied 8/15/12. Notice of Appeal to Supreme Court of Pennsylvania filed 8/16/12.
Banfield v. Aichele
Date Filed: 8/15/06
Topic(s): Voting Technology
Current Court: Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
Whether Pennsylvania’s use of DREs (direct recording electronic voting machines) violates Pennsylvania or federal law; whether the Secretary of the Commonwealth is required to re-examine the electronic voting system at request of electors.
Motions for Summary Judgment filed 8/8/11 by both Petitioner and Respondent. Opinion issued 8/29/12.
Texas:
Texas v. Holder
Date Filed: 1/24/12
State: Texas
Topic(s): Voting Rights Act, Voter ID
Current Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
Whether Texas' voter ID law should be granted preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Complaint Filed 1/24/12. Answer filed 4/9/12. Trial commenced 7/10/12. Opinion Denying Texas' Request for a Declaratory Judgment on Count One issued 8/30/12.
Voting for America v. Andrade
Date Filed: 2/13/12
Topic(s): State Voter Registration Databases, Voter Registration
Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
Whether Texas' state voter registration procedures violate the NVRA.
Complaint filed 2/3/12. Motion to Dismiss filed 3/25/12. Answer filed 3/27/12. Texas' Motion to Intervene Granted 6/8/12. Opinion and Order on Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed 8/2/12. Defendant Andrade's Notice of Appeal filed 8/16/12.
South Carolina:
South Carolina v. United States
Date Filed: 2/7/12
State: South Carolina
Whether the US Justice Department properly denied preclearance to South Carolina's Voter ID law under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
Complaint filed 2/7/12. Answer filed 4/9/12. Trial set to begin 8/27/12
Wisconsin:
Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP v. Walker
Date Filed: 12/16/11
State: Wisconsin
Current Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court
Whether Wisconsin statute requiring voters to produce photo ID at polls violates several provisions of the Wisconsin Constitution.
Complaint filed 12/16/11. Plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction filed 1/18/12. Answer filed 2/6/12. Order granting motion for temporary injunction issued 3/12/12. Circuit court order denying Motion to Stay 3/15/12. Wisconsin Supreme Court order denying petition for leave to appeal 4/16/12. Trial held in circuit court 4/16/12 - 4/19/12 with decision expected after parties submit trial briefs by 6/18/12. Court of appeals order denying petition for leave to appeal and motion for stay 4/25/12. Permanent injunction issued by Circuit Court 7/17/12. Notice of Appeal filed 7/23/12. Defendant's Petition to Bypass Court of Appeals and Motion for Stay filed in Wisconsin Supreme Court 8/21/12.
League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Walker
Date Filed: 10/20/11
Whether Wisconsin statute requiring voters to produce photo ID at the polls is constitutional.
Complaint filed 10/20/11. Defendant's motion to dismiss amended complaint filed 1/27/12. Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment filed 2/3/12. Decision and Order Granting Summary Declaratory Judgment and Permanent Injunction filed 3/12/12. Court of Appeals Certification of appeal for review by Wisconsin Supreme Court 3/28/12. Wisconsin Supreme Court's denial of petition for leave to appeal 4/16/12. Defendant's brief filed in Court of Appeals 5/25/12. Intervenor's brief filed 7/10/12. Plaintiffs' brief filed 8/20/12. Defendant's Petition to Bypass Court of Appeals and Motion for Stay filed in Wisconsin Supreme Court 8/21/12.
Jones v. Deininger
Date Filed: 2/23/12
Current Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Whether Wisconsin's voter ID law violates the right to vote of African-Americans and Latinos.
Complaint filed 2/23/12. Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed 4/23/12. Trial Postponed until Spring 2013.
Frank v. Walker
Date Filed: 12/13/11
Current Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
Whether Wisconsin voter ID legislation is unconstitutional as applied to certain classes of eligible Wisconsin voters; more specifically, whether the legislation unduly burdens the fundamental right to vote under the Equal Protection Clause, violates the Twenty-Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments as an unconstitutional poll tax, and violates the Equal Protection Clause in arbitrarily refusing to accept certain identification documents.
Complaint filed 12/13/11. Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Motion for Class Certification filed 4/23/12. Trial postponed until Spring 2013.