Daily Docket — Friday, Feb. 17

Here are some updates from the last few days.

The U.S. Supreme Court met today to review requests to hear four voting rights and elections cases. Check out our Twitter thread breaking everything down. [link removed]

Also today, North Carolina Republican legislators filed their opening brief in a previously decided voting case over congressional and legislative maps that the North Carolina Supreme Court’s new GOP majority agreed to rehear. Their brief in another case the GOP majority agreed to rehear over a previously blocked photo ID law should be filed later tonight. [link removed]

Yesterday, ​​the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s decision dismissing failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s (R) election contest, again rejecting Lake’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2022 Arizona governor’s race. [link removed]

Also yesterday, the Montana Senate passed a bill that would ban state, county or local officials from accepting private donations to fund election administration. At least four other states have proposed legislation to enact similar bans in 2023. Due to chronic underfunding, many election offices across the country have relied on private donations to carry out their work. [link removed]

On Feb. 8, Maryland Democrats introduced a state-level Voting Rights Act (VRA). The central tenet of the bill would mirror the now-defunct Section 5 of the federal VRA, requiring that jurisdictions with histories of voting discrimination receive “preclearance” from the Maryland attorney general’s Civil Rights Division before enacting election law changes, including redistricting. [link removed]

A new episode of Defending Democracy dropped today! There are 17 states where Democrats control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature. This week, Marc and Paige discuss five voting laws that these blue states should pass this year. Listen now. [link removed]

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