On June 7, Michael Crowell voluntarily dismissed his lawsuit over the provision of North Carolina law that prohibits independent voters from serving on election boards. He did so because he recently was appointed to another state commission, and North Carolina law does not permit state officers to serve on election boards. Crowell v North Carolina Election Board, m.d., 1:17cv-515.

This case was four years old and had never received an opinion. One reason it was so prolonged is that everyone involved had been waiting for the U.S. Supreme Court to decide Carney v Adams, a similar lawsuit from Delaware. But then the U.S. Supreme Court punted on that case, ruling that the plaintiff didn’t have standing because he hadn’t firmly said he wanted to be appointed, so that left the main issue unsettled.

On June 7, the state of Georgia filed this brief in defense of the parts of the omnibus election law bill that have been attacked in court by various voting rights groups. Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church v Kemp, n.d., 1:21cv-1284.

The Virginia Elections office has determined that independent gubernatorial candidate Princess Blanding submitted enough valid signatures to be on the November 2021 ballot. The other two petitions, for Constitution Party nominee T. C. Phipps and independent Frankie Bowers, did not have enough.

Therefore, only three candidates will be on the November ballot, the Democratic and Republican nominees, and Blanding.