Friday, October 11

Hurricanes Helene and Milton are impacting election planning in the South. The nation’s highest court hands another rejection to a fringe right-wing legal theory that took off after 2020. In Georgia, a lawsuit over the state election board’s three MAGA members gets dismissed.

Join us for an exclusive Zoom event featuring Marc and special guest Al Franken as they discuss the state of politics and what to expect in the post-election period. You can expect an informative discussion filled with insights — and some humor, too. This event is for members only so be sure to upgrade today so you don’t miss out! 

Hurricanes Helene, Milton disrupt election planning in the South

Election officials have spent months planning for 2024 in the face of escalating threats and mounting lawsuits. But nothing could quite prepare them for two natural disasters.

Hurricane Helene hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26, ravaging the Carolinas and Georgia and leaving over a hundred people dead. But with roughly a month until Nov. 5, the North Carolina State Election Board had to act quickly. On Monday, the board passed a resolution allowing special accommodations for voters in the 13 counties most impacted by Helene.

Last week in South Carolina, a judge extended the state’s voter registration deadline to Oct. 14 after the South Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit seeking an extension due to Helene. “This isn’t a partisan issue,” party Chair Christale Spain said. “It’s an issue of the public good and ensuring the right to vote is protected for everyone.”

In Georgia, civil rights groups also sought to extend the voter registration deadline — Oct. 7 — due to Helene. A judge denied the request Thursday.   Read more about the Georgia lawsuit.

The South again braced itself for Hurricane Milton, a storm that also prompted mass evacuations. Concerned over the impact to voting access, voting-rights groups sued to compel Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to extend the state’s voter registration deadline — Oct. 7 — ahead of the storm. DeSantis said Monday that he would not change the voter registration deadline.

A federal judge denied the groups’ request, stating that extending the deadline would overburden election workers. “I hope it didn’t come off as insensitive. … If they had evacuated, they still could have registered while evacuating,” U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle, a Clinton appointee, reportedly said. Read more about the Florida lawsuit.

SCOTUS declines to review lawsuit on fringe right-wing legal theory

An attempt led by over two-dozen Pennsylvania Republicans to revive the fringe right-wing legal theory that the Constitution gives state legislatures exclusive authority to regulate federal elections was undermined this week by the nation’s highest court.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the lawsuit, which tried to use the theory — known as the independent state legislator (ISL) theory — as a basis for challenging a series of state and federal executive actions designed to expand voter registration.

Specifically, the 27 GOP legislators challenged President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order aimed at facilitating voter registration and promoting voting access nationwide.

The suit also sought to void a set of Pennsylvania voting policies, including a 2023 directive from Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) that implemented automatic voter registration for residents obtaining driver licenses and ID cards.

The theory gained traction in the aftermath of 2020, as former President Donald Trump and his allies flooded the courts with legal challenges to the results. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected ISL in the 2022 case Moore v. Harper. Since then, some Republicans have still tried to advance the theory. Read more on the high court decision here.

Georgia judge dismisses lawsuit over MAGA election board members

In Georgia, a Fulton County judge dismissed a lawsuit from Georgia Democrats that tried to compel Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to hold hearings on three ethics complaints concerning the conduct of three MAGA members of the State Election Board.

One of the plaintiffs, state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes (D), said she was disappointed in the ruling and plans to appeal.

The decision was the latest development in the ongoing fight over the actions and conduct of the Republican board members, who’ve sparked controversy over their decision to pass three new election rules in August and September that could delay results and prolong the certification process.

This particular lawsuit focused on the conduct of the three members, not the rules. A group of Democrats had filed formal complaints against the members in August, and argued in the lawsuit that Kemp was required by law to hold a hearing on the complaints.

When reached by Democracy Docket after the filing, Kemp’s office indicated that the plaintiffs’ ethics complaints aren’t formal charges, and therefore don’t warrant an official response. On Wednesday a judge agreed, ruling that a private citizen can’t just designate a complaint as a formal charge that the governor has to look into, and that formal charges must be derived from an investigation, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read more on the ruling here.

Docket Watch

Over 200 lawsuits have been filed so far this cycle and there are tons of key decisions we’re waiting on that will impact the election. Need help knowing what to expect? Introducing Docket Watch, a new special section in On The Docket that spotlights fast-moving cases and decisions that could come down any day now.

1. One of the biggest mail-in voting cases of the year is an RNC lawsuit in Mississippi where a decision could upend when ballots are received and counted nationwide if appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

2. A lawsuit in Ohio is defending the use of drop boxes in the state and a decision restricting their use could disenfranchise voters with disabilities.

3. The Trump campaign filed its second lawsuit of the cycle in Nevada where we await a ruling on whether or not non-postmarked mail-in ballots can be counted up to three days after Election Day.

4. The fate of Georgia’s new hand count rule, which could delay final election results, could be decided next week after Wednesday’s hearing.

5. An RNC lawsuit is targeting over 225,000 voters in North Carolina, the DNC is fighting back. Stay tuned for the hearing this coming Thursday.

Opinion: The Lawsuit Fighting for Fair Representation in Louisiana’s Capital City

What We’re Doing

News Editor Sally Holtgrieve is reading Jessica’s Pishko’s new book, “The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy.” The account blends Sally’s favorite things – investigative reporting, historical research, and political analysis. It tackles why sheriffs have become a flashpoint in the current politics of toxic masculinity, guns and white supremacy (Sally’s least favorite things).

“In recent years there’s been a revival of ‘constitutional sheriffs,’ who assert that their authority supersedes that of legislatures, courts, and even the president. They’ve protested federal mask and vaccine mandates and gun regulations, railed against police reforms, and, ultimately, declared themselves election police.”

This book is essential reading ahead of the 2024 election, as are the articles Pishko frequently writes for Democracy Docket.

New Episode: George Conway on What’s Wrong with Donald Trump and the GOP

Conservative lawyer George Conway was set to join then-President-Elect Donald Trump’s Justice Department, but decided against it at the last minute. Conway speaks with Marc Elias about why he refuses to support Trump, what made him speak out and his work to keep Trump out of office. You can watch it here.