Here are some private right of action updates.

• North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe (R) will appeal a decision striking down the state's legislative districts for violating the Voting Rights Act by diluting Native American voting strength, citing the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal’s recent ruling that private parties cannot bring Section 2 claims.

  • Despite the 8th Circuit's ruling, there remains established precedent that private groups and individuals can file lawsuits under Section 2 of the VRA in the 5th, 6th and 11th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. 

• In a lawsuit challenging Georgia's "wet signature" requirement — meaning absentee ballot applications must be signed with pen and ink — Georgia officials argued that private litigants cannot bring lawsuits under the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act.

Here are some other updates.

• A Tennessee three-judge panel struck down the state's Senate map for violating the Tennessee Constitution. Lawmakers have until Jan. 31 to enact a new map.

• Louisiana intends to ask the 5th Circuit to reconsider a ruling that its congressional map likely violates the VRA, citing the 8th Circuit's recent decision that private individuals cannot file lawsuits under Section 2.

• The Colorado Supreme Court scheduled oral argument for Dec. 6 in a state-level lawsuit challenging former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to be on the state's ballot for the 2024 presidential election. 

• A Virginia court held a hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging the state constitution’s felony disenfranchisement provision, which denies the right to vote to people convicted of any felony.

• For the fourth time, the Arizona Supreme Court has denied Kari Lake's request to transfer the appeal of her failed election contest directly to the state's highest court. Litigation is ongoing in the Court of Appeals.

• The post-trial briefs from former Trump lawyer John Eastman’s disciplinary trial in the State Bar Court of California were due today. 

• Final results show Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) defeated Brandon Presley by just 26,619 votes in the state's 2023 gubernatorial election. That's less than the nearly 29,000 Mississippians who have been disenfranchised as a result of felony convictions, despite completing their sentencing terms between 1994 and 2017.

Here’s what’s coming up.

• The courts should be quiet the rest of the week given the Thanksgiving holiday, but Louisiana’s legislative maps will head to trial next Monday.