Daily Docket — Tuesday, May 16

Here are the updates you don’t want to miss.

• It’s Election Day in Pennsylvania. After today’s state Supreme Court primary, we’ll find out which Democrat will make it to the next round — and if they’ll have to face off with a Republican who cast doubt over the state’s election in 2020.

• A group of U.S. Senate and House Democrats reintroduced the Judiciary Act of 2023, a bill that would add four seats to the U.S. Supreme Court, bringing the bench from nine to 13 justices.

• Last month, Democracy Docket contributor Jessica Pishko warned that the new "election task force" in Tarrant County, Texas is not only unnecessary, but also designed to suppress the votes of the county’s growing nonwhite population. Yesterday, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and local officials sent a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate possible voter intimidation. 

Here's what happened in court today.

• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard a challenge to an Arizona voter suppression law that requires recorders to cancel voter registrations, purge the permanent mail-in voting list and more. The district court blocked some provisions of the law, finding that they likely violate the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution.

• An Arizona court heard oral argument on Abe Hamadeh's (R) request for a new trial in his lawsuit contesting his loss in the 2022 Arizona attorney general election. Hamadeh's election contest was rejected at the conclusion of his first trial in December 2022. After today's oral argument, the judge will determine whether a new trial will be held. 

• The pro-democracy plaintiffs appealed yesterday’s decision to dismiss their state court lawsuit against an anti-democratic Mississippi law that creates an unelected court system in Jackson. Remember, an ongoing federal lawsuit has temporarily blocked enforcement of the law.

Here’s what to expect coming up.

• The one remaining claim in Kari Lake's election contest will go to trial starting tomorrow and scheduled through Friday, May 19. Lake will have to prove that Maricopa County, Arizona "conducted no signature verification or curing" and that this changed the outcome of the election she lost by over 17,000 votes. 

• Tomorrow at 2 p.m. EDT, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is chairing a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on federal judicial ethics processes and necessary reforms. Watch it live here.

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

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