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.

• Nov. 1, 2023: Trial begins in a federal lawsuit challenging Michigan’s state House and Senate districts for allegedly violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and for being unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. 

• Nov. 1, 2023: Deadline for the Arkansas secretary of state to submit a response brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in a case challenging Arkansas’ congressional map.

• Nov. 2, 2023: Oral argument in the Minnesota Supreme Court that will determine whether former President Donald Trump is eligible to appear on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

• Nov. 3, 2023: Oral argument in the Kansas Supreme Court over whether a legal challenge against two voter suppression laws may proceed. One of the challenged laws restricts ballot collection and the other imposes signature matching requirements. 

• Nov. 6, 2023: Trial begins in a federal case challenging Arizona’s strict proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. 

• Nov. 7, 2023: Oral argument in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that will determine whether to affirm or reverse a lower court decision that struck down Galveston County, Texas’ commissioners court districts for violating Section 2 of the VRA.

• Nov. 8, 2023: The day after 5th Circuit oral argument in the Galveston County case, there will be a hearing in the district court to determine how the county can remedy its districts that the court found to be in violation of Section 2. 

• Nov. 9, 2023: Hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging former President Donald Trump’s ability to appear on Nevada’s 2024 presidential ballot due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

• Nov. 10, 2023: Hearing in a state-level lawsuit brought by a right-wing group challenging Wisconsin's use of an online portal in which voters may request absentee ballots. 

• Nov. 13, 2023: Trial begins in a consolidated federal case challenging Georgia’s congressional map for being an unconstitutional racial gerrymander and diluting the voting power of Black voters. 

• Nov. 14, 2023: Hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging a North Carolina law that imposes criminal penalties on residents who unknowingly vote while on parole, probation or post-release supervision for a felony conviction. 

• Nov. 14, 2023: Hearing in a federal lawsuit seeking to remove former President Donald Trump from Arizona’s 2024 presidential ballot due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

• Nov. 15, 2023: Oral argument in New York’s highest court in a case that will determine if the New York Independent Redistricting Commission will have to reconvene and redraw the state’s congressional map. 

• Nov. 17, 2023: Oral argument in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a lawsuit that will determine if the Alabama secretary of state has to produce purged voter records under the National Voter Registration Act. 

• Nov. 20, 2023: Trial begins in a state-level lawsuit challenging Missouri’s new restrictive Photo ID requirement imposed by the state’s 2022 omnibus voter suppression law, House Bill 1878.

• Nov. 21, 2023: Oral argument before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a lawsuit alleging that the state’s legislative maps are unfairly gerrymandered to benefit Republicans in violation of the state constitution. 

• Nov. 22, 2023: Hearing regarding Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit challenging a provision of the Virginia Constitution that imposes a lifetime ban on voting for those with felony convictions. 

• Nov. 27, 2023: Trial begins in a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s legislative maps under Section 2 of the VRA for diluting the voting power of Black voters.

• Nov. 28, 2023: Oral argument before the Texas Supreme Court in a lawsuit challenging a new law that abolished the appointed election administrator position within Harris County. 

We are waiting for decisions in the following lawsuits. 

• A state-level lawsuit challenging Utah’s congressional map for being a partisan gerrymander that unfairly favors Republicans.   

• A federal 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 VRA. 

• A federal lawsuit that is on appeal in the 5th Circuit challenging Louisiana’s congressional map under Section 2 of the VRA.  

• A federal lawsuit that will determine whether the elimination of Florida’s Black-performing 5th Congressional District violates the 14th and 15th Amendments’ prohibition on intentional racial discrimination.

• A state-level lawsuit challenging Florida’s congressional map for diminishing the voting power of Black Floridians in violation of the state constitution. The appeal of the lawsuit is pending in Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeal and a decision is expected by Nov. 22.

Here are some recent updates.

• California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) warned Shasta County that a new state law prohibits the county’s plans to hand count ballots next week. The state "stands ready to take any actions necessary" if the county goes through with its illegal plans.

• A hearing was held in a lawsuit challenging restrictive absentee ballot rules in Wisconsin for violating the state constitution.