Daily Docket — Friday, June 30

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.

• July 6, 2023: Oral argument in an appeal of a state-level 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. 

• July 7, 2023: Republican officials’ brief due in a racial gerrymandering case out of South Carolina currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

• July 11, 2023: Oral argument in an appeal of a state-level lawsuit challenging Utah’s congressional map drawn with 2020 census data and the Utah Legislature’s repeal of Proposition 4, a ballot initiative passed in 2018 that created an independent redistricting commission.

• July 11, 2023: Hearing in a state-level lawsuit against the Delaware County Board of Elections challenging the board’s decision to not count provisional ballots cast in the May 16, 2023 municipal primary election. 

• July 12, 2023: Oral argument regarding an appeal of certain claims that were allowed to proceed in a federal lawsuit challenging Texas voter suppression law, Senate Bill 1. 

• July 13, 2023: Hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging Michigan’s legislative districts drawn with 2020 census data alleging that they violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. 

• July 18, 2023: Oral argument in an appeal of a state-level lawsuit challenging Cochise County, Arizona’s attempts to hand count mail-in ballots during the 2022 midterm elections. 

• July 21, 2023: Oral argument in a state-level lawsuit challenging the Alaska Division of Elections’ failure to permit ballot curing procedures for mail-in ballots.

• July 21, 2023: Hearing in a state-level lawsuit challenging newly enacted Idaho voter suppression law, House Bill 124, which eliminates the use of a student ID as an acceptable form of identification for in-person voting. 

• July 25, 2023: Hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging two Arizona voter suppression laws that impose strict proof of citizenship requirements for voters. 

We are waiting for decisions in the following lawsuits. 

• A set of lawsuits that will determine whether Florida’s omnibus voter suppression law, Senate Bill 7050, will be temporarily blocked. 

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

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

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

Here are some other updates from today.

• The U.S Supreme Court declined to hear a case from Ohio Republicans invoking the recently rejected independent state legislature theory. Ohio GOP lawmakers had asked the Court to overturn a decision striking down the state's congressional map for partisan gerrymandering. The case now goes back to the Ohio Supreme Court.

• The Court also declined to review a 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals decision that upheld Mississippi's 1890 felony disenfranchisement law. A lawsuit argued that the law was enacted to discriminate against Black voters and violates the 14th Amendment. Read more about the Court’s decision here.

There is no new episode of Defending Democracy today. Catch up on last week’s episode where Marc and Paige recapped the types of voting bills Republican-led states prioritized enacting this year compared to those in Democratic-led states. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

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