Third Circuit Stays U.S. District Order on Whether Pennsylvania Postal Ballots are Invalid if the Voter Fails to Fill in the Outer Envelope Question about the Date

Posted on by December 13, 2023
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On December 13, the Third Circuit stayed the U.S. District Court order in Pennsylvania State Conference of NAACP Branches v Secretary, 23-3166. This is the case on the Pennsylvania law that says postal ballots are invalid if the voter doesn’t fill out a blank on the outer envelope that asks for the date the ballot is being mailed. The U.S. District Court had struck it down under the “Materiality” provision of the 1964 civil rights act, which says that voters should not lose their vote if they make a mistake that is not meaingful.

The Third Circuit Judges said that they are issuing the stay even though they do not mean to imply that they intend to reverse, but that the question is important and the case deserves a stay. The Third Circuit will expedite the case. Thanks to Democracy Docket for this news.

Some Texas Voters Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Interpret 26th Amendment

Posted on by December 13, 2023
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The U.S. Supreme Court has never had a case involving the 26th amendment, which says, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of age.”

On December 7, some Texas voters asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case against the Texas law that treats voters age 65 and above differently than it treats younger voters. Texas lets voters age 65 and above cast a no-excuse absentee ballot, but does not permit any other voters to do so. Cascino v Nelson, 23-612. Here is the cert petition.

A few years ago a similar Indiana law was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court asked for a response from the state of Indiana, but then afterwards the Court refused to hear the Indiana case, which was Tully v Okeson, 20-1244. Thanks to Democcracy Docket for the news about the Texas case.

Georgia Voters Ask U.S. District Court to Invalidate the New U.S. House District Boundaries

Posted on by December 13, 2023
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On December 12, the Georgia voters who had originally challenged the 2021 U.S. House district boundaries, and who had won, asked the same court to invalidate the new boundaries that the state created last week. Pendergrass v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:21cv-5339. Here is their brief. A hearing will be held December 20.

The uncertainty over the eventual Georgia boundaries makes it increasingly likely that the districts won’t be settled by the start of the petitioning period for minor party and independent candidates for U.S. House. In that event, under several Georgia precedents, the state will be required to cut the number of signatures.

New York State U.S. House Districts Will be Redrawn Again

Posted on by December 13, 2023
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On December 12, the highest state court in New York, the Court of Appeals, issued an opinion in In the Matter of Hoffmann v New York State Independent Redistricting Commission, no. 90. Here is the decision. The majority opinion is 33 pages and the dissent is 27 pages. The vote was 4-3.

The decision says that when a special master drew new districts in 2022, that was just a temporary remedy that should only apply to the 2022 election. The majority therefore concludes that the Independent Redistricting Commission should again draw new districts, for use in 2024 through 2030. The IRC has until February 28, 2024, to draw new districts.

New York’s constitution bans partisan gerrymandering, but the state’s procedures are not well-suited to accomplish that goal. The “Independent Redistricting Commission” is not composed of neutral, apolitical citizens, as is the case in some other states. Instead it must have an exact partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans, and if it deadlocks (which is easy to do), then the legislature plays a dominant role in drawing the districts. In 2022 the IRC failed, and one wonders if it will be able to succeed when it tries again.