On December 20, the government of Delaware filed this brief in U.S. District Court in Adams v Carney, 1:20cv-1680. This is the case over the Delaware law that says most state court judges must be members of one of the two largest parties. The government is trying to get the case dismissed, and argues that the plaintiff still lacks standing.
The Charlotte Observer has this editorial, criticizing the North Carolina Supreme Court for keeping secret how each justice voted, when the court postponed the 2022 primary.
On December 28, the Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the lawsuit over the new district boundaries. The Ohio State Constitution was amended in 2018 by the voters, requiring that redistricting not favor any one particular party. The lawsuit was filed by voters and groups who believe the new districts violate the state Constitution. See this story about the argument. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.
All city elections in Tennessee are non-partisan, unless the city passes a law for partisan elections. On October 28, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson,a Trump appointee, denied injunctive relief for Jenna Amacher, a councilmember in Tullahoma who is running for re-election in spring 2022. She wants “Republican” next to her name on the ballot, and filed a federal lawsuit. Amacher v State, m.d., 3:21cv-638. Here is the order denying injunctive relief.
It would have been surprising if she had won injunctive relief, because the the Sixth Circuit already upheld an Ohio law that does not permit party labels on the ballot for candidates for State Supreme Court Justice, even though parties do nominate for that office. Since that decision came out, however, the Ohio legislature added party labels to the general election ballot for State Supreme Court elections. Tennessee is in the Sixth Circuit.
President Biden has appointed specialists in voting rights to two U.S. appellate courts. Myrna Perez was approved by the U.S. Senate on October 25, by a vote of 48-43. Here is information about her background. She is now on the Second Circuit, which includes New York, Connecticut, and Vermont.
On December 23 the President chose Nancy Abudu for the Eleventh Circuit, which contains Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Here is information on her background.
These are the first appointments of voting rights specialists made by any president to U.S. appellate courts since 1961, when President Kennedy appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Second Circuit.
