Last Friday, we got four big courtroom updates.

North Carolina Supreme Court Rules To Limit Power of Racially Gerrymandered Legislature
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that state legislators elected under racially gerrymandered districts do not have unlimited authority to amend the state constitution.

The ruling stems from a 2018 lawsuit challenging two amendments to the state constitution, including a photo ID requirement to vote. The plaintiffs argued the amendments are invalid because they were placed on the ballot by legislators elected in districts previously deemed unconstitutional by a federal court. [link removed]

Rather than void both amendments completely, the state Supreme Court’s decision sends the case back to the trial court level. Find out more about the ruling here. [link removed]

Pennsylvania Court Orders Counties To Count Undated Mail-in Ballots
After Pennsylvania held its primary election in May, the acting secretary of the commonwealth filed a lawsuit against three Republican-led counties for not including undated mail-in ballots in their vote totals — despite state and federal court decisions establishing that these ballots must be counted. [link removed]

A state court ordered the three counties to include undated mail-in ballots in their certified vote totals. Get the full details here. [link removed]

Court Declines to Block Georgia’s Line-warming Ban for Fall Elections
A federal judge declined to temporarily block the line-warming ban in Georgia’s Senate Bill 202. As a result, the contentious provision that bans volunteers from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line will be in effect for this year’s elections.

Even though he suggested the line-warming ban is likely unconstitutional, the judge cited the controversial Purcell principle as a reason to not block the law prior to an election. Read more here. [link removed]

U.S. Supreme Court Vacates 11th Circuit’s Ruling On Georgia’s Public Service Commission Elections
Earlier this month, a federal judge found that Georgia’s method for electing members of the state’s Public Service Commission violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. However, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals then paused the decision pending appeal. The court cited the Purcell principle to justify the move.

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated (or voided) the 11th Circuit’s opinion, writing in an unsigned order that the 11th Circuit improperly applied Purcell. As a result, there will be no elections for the Public Service Commission this year. Learn more about the order here. [link removed]

Can’t get enough news? You can always find more details about these updates on our Alerts page. [link removed]

Thanks for staying in the fight,
Team Democracy Docket




Democracy Docket
PO Box 733
Great Falls, VA 22066
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