|
Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting the young United States in 1835, memorably wrote, “There is almost no political question in the United States that does not sooner or later resolve itself into a judicial question.” Litigiousness is in our national DNA.
|
|
This year, a blizzard of voting lawsuits swirls around the election. The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee have filed suits to restrict access to voting — everything from stopping secure drop boxes to limiting the days when ballots can be received. Voting rights groups and Democrats have sued to change the rules to ease voting. All told there are 137 cases underway or on appeal.
|
|
With two weeks to go to Election Day, a few things are clear.
|
First, there’s a clear pattern: courts are ruling, more often than not, for voting rights and expanded access. But there’s another pattern emerging, too, identified in the New York Times this week: federal appeals courts, stocked with Trump appointees, are blocking many of those rulings. |
|
As my colleague Wendy Weiser told the Times, “There has been a very significant number of federal voting rights victories across the country and those have in the last week or two — many if not most — been stayed by appellate courts. We’re seeing the brakes being put on the voting rights expansion at the appellate level in these jurisdictions, in many cases in ways that won’t be remediable before the election.” It’s an ill omen for what the courts will look like in years to come.
|
|
In any case, as many worry about disputes after Election Day, many of those issues will be resolved before November. Just as voting has started early, the “post-election” lawsuits have started, too.
|
|
The Brennan Center has been involved in several key ongoing cases.
|
Last week, we saw a big win for Texas voters. Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott attempted to bar election officials from providing more than one drop-off site for mail-in ballots per county prior to Election Day, regardless of a county’s size or population density. In a county like Loving, with a population of 169, that’s not a problem. But in Harris County, with 4.7 million residents, it’s absurd and unsafe. |
|
We, along with our partners Dechert LLP, sued Abbott in state court on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, Common Cause Texas, and a voter. We obtained a favorable decision in the trial court. The governor has appealed the decision, however, putting the trial court’s decision on hold. We’ve asked the appeals court to bar enforcement of Abbott’s order while the appeals process plays out. This would mean that the state can open the drop boxes that it was forced to close.
|
We’ve seen wins in Pennsylvania, too. A federal court recently sided with voters by upholding the use of ballot drop boxes and declining to impose unwarranted new restrictions. And last night, the Supreme Court also let stand a ruling that lets election officials count mail ballots received up to three days after Election Day. |
Another common feature to these cases: often they cite bogus claims that voting by mail invites fraud. But voters should not be discouraged. As Lisa Danetz explains, a range of security features to protect mail ballots from misconduct. |
|
There are two weeks left before November 3, and turnout is already hitting record highs. Don’t forget: it’s American voters who pick elected officials, not judges.
|
