Daily Docket — Monday, June 12

Here are some updates you may have missed.

• The Ohio Supreme Court ordered Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) and the Ohio Ballot Board to rewrite parts of a ballot measure that would make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution. A lawsuit argued that the language used was misleading.

• North Carolina Republicans introduced a bill to change the structure of the state’s boards of elections, taking power from the governor to appoint members and granting it to the Legislature.

• Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed the state’s Voting Rights Act into law. The bill was included in the state budget.

• On Friday, before concluding its legislative session, the New York Legislature passed a bill that would permit any voter to vote by mail during the early voting period.

• After adjourning last week, the Nevada Legislature sent a dozen pro-voting bills to Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) for his signature. The bills would improve ballot access for eligible incarcerated voters, help establish more polling places and drop boxes on Native American reservations and more.

Last week’s decision in Allen v. Milligan continues to reverberate.

• The U.S. Supreme Court unpaused the district court’s decision requiring Alabama to draw a new congressional map. As a result, the parties in the case will hold a conference on Friday, June 16, to discuss next steps.

• A federal court similarly unpaused a lawsuit challenging Alabama's state House and state Senate districts for discriminating against Black voters. The case was paused pending a decision in Allen.

• In a lawsuit alleging that Arkansas' state House map violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a brief arguing that the decision in Allen "supports the conclusion that Section 2...contains an implied private right of action." According to the DOJ, this means that private plaintiffs, like those in the Arkansas case, can bring Section 2 lawsuits.

Here’s what to expect coming up.

• Tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. EDT, there will be a hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s recently enacted law that “restricts voters with disabilities from having a person of their choice assist them in submitting their completed” mail-in ballots.

• Also tomorrow, there is a hearing in a state-level lawsuit challenging an Idaho law that removed student IDs from the list of eligible IDs to use to vote. 

ICYMI, listen to our latest episode of Defending Democracy. In the podcast episode that dropped last Friday, Marc and Paige are joined by Abha Khanna, one of the attorneys who argued Allen v. Milligan before the Supreme Court, to break down what the decision means for voters, why it is a victory for democracy and how it’ll impact future redistricting cases.

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

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