Daily Docket — Wednesday, May 31

Here's what to expect in the courts next month.

To prepare you for the month ahead, we’ve outlined what courtroom activity and fillings we anticipate as well as what outstanding decisions we are watching for.

Here are key dates and case developments coming up.

• June 2, 2023: Trial in two related lawsuits challenging Washington state’s legislative map drawn with 2020 census data. 

• June 8, 2023: Oral argument in an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission’s alleged failure to submit a second set of congressional and legislative maps to the New York Legislature.

• June 12, 2023: Trial in a lawsuit challenging North Dakota’s legislative districts drawn with 2020 census data. 

• June 14, 2023: Hearing in a case over New Mexico’s ability to criminally prosecute Voter Reference Foundation, a conservative group, for violating New Mexico statutes that protect voter data. 

Here are some cases with decisions that we’re waiting for. 

• The two major voting rights cases that were argued in the U.S. Supreme Court this term, Allen v. Milligan and Moore v. Harper. We’ll be watching for decisions in these cases when the Court releases its next set of opinions on Thursday, June 1.

• A lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s legislative maps and a lawsuit challenging part of the state’s felony disenfranchisement scheme.

• A lawsuit that will determine whether the white, conservative chief justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court can appoint unelected judges in Jackson (the state’s majority-Black capital) under a recently enacted, anti-democratic law, House Bill 1020. 

• A lawsuit challenging Arkansas’ legislative maps that will dictate whether private plaintiffs — and not just the U.S. Attorney General — have the right to bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

• A lawsuit that will decide whether the Washington Voting Rights Act violates the state and federal constitutions.  

As always, keep an eye on our Cases page for real time updates on any developments in these lawsuits and others.

Here are some updates from the last few days.

• Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed former Secretary of State John Scott (R), who briefly represented Trump in a lawsuit to overturn Pennsylvania's 2020 election results, as interim attorney general after the impeachment of Ken Paxton (R).

• Miami appealed a court decision blocking the city commission map from being used in elections this year.

• The Connecticut Senate passed two pro-voting bills. One would establish 14 days of in-person early voting and heads to Gov. Ned Lamont (D) for his signature. The other would allow no-excuse mail-in voting and will go before voters in November 2024.

• On Tuesday, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed a bill designed to protect election officials from intimidation and election interference. This includes prohibiting the dissemination of “any personal identifying information or sensitive information of an elections official without the consent of the elections official.”

• Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice and other groups asked a federal court to block certain provisions of Georgia's omnibus voter suppression law that prohibit passing food and water to voters in line, limit drop boxes, restrict mail-in voting and more.

• Monday marked the conclusion of Texas’ regular legislative session. The Legislature advanced seven anti-voting bills to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott (R).

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

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