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Welcome to my new Litigation Look Ahead!

When I launched Democracy Docket four years ago, we began our free On the Docket newsletter to provide information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts. In 2023, we expanded our free offerings with the Daily Docket newsletter to keep you up to date about the day’s democracy news.

Today, we begin our premium, paid offerings. On the first of every month, I will provide paid subscribers with a preview of the cases, hearings, legal maneuvers and emerging litigation trends that I will be watching in the month ahead. This first one is on us, but make sure you receive this email, my monthly State of Democracy report and other exclusive subscriber benefits by upgrading to a paid subscription now ([link removed]) .
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My takeaways from last month.

February may be the shortest month (even with the extra day for leap year), but it was one of the most consequential.

New York state of mind: It is not often that New York tops the places to watch for important voting rights news, but then again it’s not often that Republicans sue ([link removed]) to block a no-excuse mail-in voting law, lose the case and then immediately suffer the consequences in a high profile congressional special election where it snowed 10 inches on Election Day. While Democrats were taking advantage of the court ruling, Republicans were literally hiring snow plows on Election Day so their voters could physically head to the polls. You might think the GOP has learned its lesson, but it hasn’t…

Start spreading the news: Voters now have a fair congressional map that reflects the diverse communities in the Empire State.


Arizona Republicans hate (election) correctness: After the Arizona secretary of state published a new Election Procedures Manual, Republicans and their allies filed ([link removed]) three separate lawsuits to object to it. To be clear, the purpose of the EPM is to “achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency” in conducting elections. The new lawsuits range from ones seeking to strike down the provisions preventing voter harassment to others that ask the court to strike down the entire document. The RNC is moving its case forward the fastest. Expect more on this in the months ahead.

What I’m watching for.

The rime of the ancient New Yorker: “Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” New York has a law that makes it a crime to provide “any meat, drink, tobacco, refreshment or provision” to a person near a polling location. When several GOP-controlled states enacted similar bans in 2021, the NAACP challenged ([link removed]) the New York law. Finally, on March 4, this case goes to trial where it seems likely this law will be tossed out. The question is how quickly and why is New York even defending this unnecessarily restrictive law?

As Illinois goes, so goes the nation: Republicans hate mail in voting. SO much so that they have supported nearly identical cases in two decidedly non-battleground states — Illinois ([link removed]) and Mississippi ([link removed]) . At issue are those states' laws counting ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but received by the county a few days afterward. The GOP lost its case in Illinois, but is soldiering on to the 7th Circuit. The Chicago-based appellate court will hear arguments in this case on March 28. I will be watching.

What I’m waiting for.

Where Trump is not immune: We enter March with more clarity from the U.S. Supreme Court about Trump’s near-frivolous claim that he is categorically immune from criminal prosecution — the nation’s high court will hear this case ([link removed]) in April and issue a decision. The outcome in the case is not really in doubt — the Court will almost certainly agree with the last four federal judges who have reviewed this and find that Trump is not protected from criminal responsibility for his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. But with oral argument not until April, the big question for March will be which case(s) proceed in the meantime. The New York hush money case is set to begin on March 25, and upcoming hearings in Florida and Georgia should help fill out Trump’s calendar as a criminal defendant.

Another map for 2024: Just as soon as Wisconsin settled on a new — and finally fair — legislative map, all eyes turned to the petition pending before the state Supreme Court to reopen the case ([link removed]) over Wisconsin's congressional district lines. If Badger State voters are going to get relief from the current gerrymander in time for 2024, the high court will have to act soon, certainly in March.

Speaking of maps: The U.S. Supreme Court owes us an opinion in the South Carolina racial gerrymandering case ([link removed]) and I suspect it is coming in March. The case was argued last year and time is running out for a new map in the Palmetto State before the 2024 elections. In addition to determining the fate of Republican Rep. Nancy Mace’s congressional district, I will be watching to see whether the Court breaks any new ground in the way racial gerrymandering cases are brought and won.

Dates and battles coming up this month.

March 4, 2024
* Trial begins in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging New York’s ban on “line warming,” which prohibits volunteers from passing out food and water to voters waiting in long lines to vote.

March 8, 2024
* Evidentiary hearing on remedial map proposals in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging Washington’s legislative map for unlawfully diluting Latino voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

March 20, 2024
* Hearing on two motions for summary judgment in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging Virginia’s allegedly arbitrary voting rights restoration policy for individuals with prior felony convictions.
* Hearing on pro-voting groups’ motion for a preliminary injunction in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging Montana’s criminal penalties against voters who are registered to vote in another jurisdiction aside from Montana.

March 28, 2024
* Oral argument in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a Republican lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging Illinois’ mail-in ballot receipt deadline law, which allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to two weeks after Election Day.

We are waiting on big decisions from these courts.
* The U.S. Supreme Court in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) that will determine whether South Carolina’s congressional map will be struck down for racial gerrymandering.
* The Utah Supreme Court in a state-level lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging the state's congressional map for being a partisan gerrymander that unfairly favors Republicans.
* The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a federal lawsuit ([link removed]) challenging Pennsylvania’s date requirement for mail-in ballots.
* The Wisconsin Supreme Court on a request ([link removed]) from voters seeking to reopen litigation ([link removed]) over the state’s congressional map.

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