Daily Docket — Thursday, May 4

Here are some legal updates from today.

• A federal court blocked a Kansas voter suppression law that prohibited organizations from sending personalized mail-in ballot applications to voters. Voting rights groups argued that the law violated the U.S. Constitution and limited their work.

• The Arizona Supreme Court issued sanctions against Kari Lake and her attorneys: "Because Lake’s attorney has made false factual statements to the Court, we conclude that the extraordinary remedy of a sanction...is appropriate." 

• A Mississippi judge paused enforcement of House Bill 1020 until a hearing can be held on the state court case next week. This ruling temporarily freezes the creation of a separate, unelected court system in Jackson.

• The U.S. Supreme Court asked parties for briefs about whether it should still review Moore v. Harper in light of the North Carolina Supreme Court's recent ruling on the matter. This indicates that SCOTUS may be considering dismissing Moore.

Here are some updates from Congress you may have missed.

• U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) reintroduced the Election Worker Protection Act, a bill to provide states with more resources to recruit, train and ensure the safety of election workers amid rising threats.

• The Congressional Black Caucus is urging Senate Democrats to end "blue slips" for federal judicial nominees. The practice enables Senate Republicans to block judicial nominations and is holding up President Joe Biden's efforts to diversify the federal bench. What exactly are "blue slips" and how do they work? Check out our Explainer.

Here’s what to expect coming up.

• Tomorrow, there will be a court hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging H.B. 1020 and another anti-democratic Mississippi law.

• The latest episode of our Defending Democracy podcast, “How the Supreme Court Could Rule in Moore v. Harper and Allen v. Milligan,” drops tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. EDT — get ready! Listen on Apple, Spotify or any other platform. 

Can’t get enough news? You can always find more details about these updates on our News page.

This is a Daily Docket email where we provide the day’s voting rights news and courtroom updates that you need to know. 

Love our emails, but don’t need daily updates? Opt out of Daily Docket here. We depend on the support of our readers to keep bringing you the latest on the fight for democracy. You can support our work here to keep our content free and available for all. You can update your email preferences here. Email is the best way to keep in touch, but you may unsubscribe. 

Democracy Docket
250 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States