Thursday, April 17

Jefferson Griffin moves to disenfranchise more North Carolina voters

• In a move that could disenfranchise even more voters in the North Carolina Supreme Court race, Jefferson Griffin asked the appeals court to expand the number of ballots needing corrections beyond the 1,675 identified by state officials and limit who can fix them.
  
  
• The move comes after state election officials put the number of ballots at risk of being thrown out in the race at a significantly lower mark than previously reported.
  
  
• Meanwhile Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs is continuing her fight in federal court to ensure all votes are counted. On Wednesday, Riggs and several pro-voting groups filed motions in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals seeking to block the state from starting the cure process.

A key federal elections agency is moving forward with Trump’s anti-voting order

• The Election Assistance Commission — an independent bipartisan commission —  is moving forward with President Donald Trump’s anti-voting executive order by “seeking consultation” from state election officials on how to implement the order's proof of citizenship requirements.
  
  
• On April 11, the commission sent state election officials a letter “seeking consultation” on how they would apply Trump’s proof of citizenship demand if his order ultimately stands — and how the new requirement would affect voter registration in their states.
  
  
• A coalition of voting rights groups sued the Trump administration order that would disenfranchise millions of voters. During a hearing on the lawsuit today, the Trump administration argued that the letter the EAC sent was unrelated to the executive order. But the district court judge who held the hearing appeared skeptical of that argument.

Federal judges continue to denounce Trump for wrongfully removed Maryland man

• A three-judge panel for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals again unanimously rejected a Trump administration request to overturn a lower-court order requiring it to secure the freedom of Kilmar Abrego García — the Maryland man erroneously sent to a hard labor prison in El Salvador.

SCOTUS will hear the challenges to Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship

• The Supreme Court will hear consolidated cases challenging Trump’s executive order to limit birthright citizenship on May 15. In these cases, the administration seeks to limit the scope of nationwide injunctions.