On July 12, Ohio filed a brief in Thompson v DeWine, 21-3514. This is the case over whether Ohio should have granted some petitioning relief for initiative petitions during 2020, due to the covid crisis. The state says the case is moot. It says, “The Covid-19 pandemic gave rise to unique circumstances that are exceptionally unlikely to recur.” That is not necessarily true, as covid-19 cases are again rising in the U.S.