On the evening of August 14, Sunday, the plaintiffs in Rose v Raffensperger asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. This is the case over whether Georgia is violating the federal Voting Rights Act by holding at-large elections for Public Service Commissioner. The U.S. District Court had ruled that at-large elections for this office should no longer be held. That court ruled that Georgia should not hold two such at-large elections in November 2022.

But then the Eleventh Circuit had voted 2-1 that such an order violates the Purcell Principle, the idea that courts should not change the mechanics of election administration too soon before an election. Some lower courts have been expanding the Purcell Principle so that no changes can ever get made in the election year, as a result of a lawsuit. For example, the U.S. District Court in Florida that is hearing the People’s Party ballot access case used the Purcell Principle to reject putting the party’s nominee for Pasco County office on the November ballot.

Here is the U.S. Supreme Court filing in Rose. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.