Daily Docket — Tuesday, May 23

Here are some courtroom updates from today and yesterday.

• An Arizona judge rejected Kari Lake's claim that Maricopa County failed to properly signature match mail-in ballots, ruling that no "clear and convincing evidence" was presented at trial. Lake's entire election contest has now been dismissed — again.

• A group of Ohio voters filed a second lawsuit over a resolution that would increase the threshold to pass constitutional amendments from 50% to 60% of the vote. This time, the lawsuit challenges the language for the proposed amendment that would go before voters, alleging that it is inaccurate and misleading.

• In a win for voters, a federal court blocked Miami, Florida's city commission map from being used in the November 2023 elections. The judge found that the districts were racially gerrymandered in violation of the 14th Amendment. 

• A group of Arkansas voters filed a lawsuit arguing that Arkansas' congressional map is racially gerrymandered and intentionally discriminates against Black voters in violation of the 14th and 15th Amendments. The map splits Little Rock’s Pulaski County into three separate districts.

• A federal judge extended a temporary block on part of a Mississippi law, preventing the Mississippi Supreme Court chief justice from appointing judges to the Hinds County Circuit Court based in the state capital Jackson. 

Here’s what happened in the Texas Legislature today.

• The Texas House advanced three anti-democratic bills:

• • Senate Bill 1750, which would eliminate the county election administrator position in Houston’s Harris County. This bill now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for signing.

• • Senate Bill 1933, which would empower the secretary of state to take over election administration in counties with over four million residents. Only Harris County fits that criterion. The bill returns to the Texas Senate for concurrence or conference on amendments.

• • Senate Bill 1070, which would allow Texas to leave the voter data organization ERIC. The bill goes back to the Texas Senate for concurrence or conference. 

Here are some other legislative updates you may have missed.

• Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a law making it harder for the state to join the voter data organization ERIC. Meanwhile, the North Carolina Senate passed its 2023 budget, which includes a provision that would similarly prohibit the state from joining ERIC. In the past few months, numerous Republican-controlled states have withdrawn from the group.

• Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed four more election-related bills last week that dealt with partisan election observers, recusals of election officials, voting machines and more. Republicans lack a supermajority in the Legislature to override the vetoes.

• Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed at least five election bills into law over the past few days. 

• Some good news: Yesterday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed a law improving the state’s automatic voter registration. The enactment comes on the heels of another measure that will make it easier for Washingtonians to register to vote online.

Here’s what to expect coming up.

• The Florida Legislature transmitted a restrictive election bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The bill would make numerous changes to Florida election law and alter the state’s resign-to-run law to pave the way for a DeSantis presidential bid. DeSantis is expected to sign the bill soon; he is also expected to announce his 2024 presidential campaign tomorrow evening on Twitter. 

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

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