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.
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- 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.
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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.
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- A state court ordered the three counties to include undated mail-in ballots in their certified vote totals. Get the full details here.
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.
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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.
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.
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Let’s keep up the fight, Team Democracy Docket |
