This database consolidates and tracks litigation concerning the effect of the pandemic on election law. The purpose of this tool is to provide an interactive list of relevant cases that can be searched by issue, court, status, and jurisdiction.
Case Details
Lewis v. Hughs
Closed
Lewis v. Hughs, No. 5:20-cv-00577 (W.D. Tex.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiffs (a group of individuals and organizations) sued the Texas Secretary of State challenging the constitutionality of the following Texas mail voting provisions: (i) the requirement that voters pay postage to return mail voting ballots, Tex. Elec. Code § 86.002 ("Postage Tax"); (ii) the misleading postmark and receipt deadlines for mail voting ballots, id. § 86.007 ("Ballot Receipt Deadline"); (iii) the requirement to submit two “matching” handwriting samples to qualify for mail voting, id. § 87.027 ("Signature Match Requirement"); and (iv) the criminalization of a person assisting a voter in returning a marked mail voting ballot, id. § 86.006 ("Voter Assistance Ban"). Plaintiffs allege that these voting provisions violate their civil rights and bring suit under 42 U.S. Code 1983. Specifically that all of the above voting provisions (i)-(iv) are an undue burden on the right to vote, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution; that the Postage Tax and Signature Match Requirement provisions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; that the Signature Match Requirement and Voter Assistance Ban provisions violate procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and that the Postage Tax provision violates the prohibition of a poll tax under the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The complaint stresses that COVID-19 would make voting in-person more dangerous and more difficult, which would only serve to worsen the negative impact of the above voting provisions on plaintiffs' ability to vote. After the court below denied Defendant's motion to dismiss, Defendant appealed. | |
| Filed | 05/10/2020 | |
| State | Texas | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Fifth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed () | |
| Last Updated | 11/19/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Postage Requirement, Mail Voting Deadlines (for Applying, Receiving, Postmark), Signature Verification Standards, Restriction on Assistance or Collection of Mail Ballots for Return) | |
| Complaint(s) | 05/11/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 07/28/2020: Order/Ruling, Defendant's motion to dismiss is denied as Plaintiffs have asserted valid claims for relief. | |
Lewis v. Hughs, No. 20-50654 (5th Cir.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiffs (a group of individuals and organizations) sued the Texas Secretary of State challenging the constitutionality of the following Texas mail voting provisions: (i) the requirement that voters pay postage to return mail voting ballots, Tex. Elec. Code § 86.002 ("Postage Tax"); (ii) the misleading postmark and receipt deadlines for mail voting ballots, id. § 86.007 ("Ballot Receipt Deadline"); (iii) the requirement to submit two “matching” handwriting samples to qualify for mail voting, id. § 87.027 ("Signature Match Requirement"); and (iv) the criminalization of a person assisting a voter in returning a marked mail voting ballot, id. § 86.006 ("Voter Assistance Ban"). Plaintiffs allege that these voting provisions violate their civil rights and bring suit under 42 U.S. Code 1983. Specifically that all of the above voting provisions (i)-(iv) are an undue burden on the right to vote, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution; that the Postage Tax and Signature Match Requirement provisions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; that the Signature Match Requirement and Voter Assistance Ban provisions violate procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; and that the Postage Tax provision violates the prohibition of a poll tax under the Fourteenth and Twenty-Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The complaint stresses that COVID-19 would make voting in-person more dangerous and more difficult, which would only serve to worsen the negative impact of the above voting provisions on plaintiffs' ability to vote. After the court below denied Defendant's motion to dismiss, Defendant appealed. | |
| Filed | 08/07/2020 | |
| State | Texas | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Fifth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed () | |
| Last Updated | 09/07/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Postage Requirement, Mail Voting Deadlines (for Applying, Receiving, Postmark), Signature Verification Standards, Restriction on Assistance or Collection of Mail Ballots for Return) | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 09/04/2020: Order/Ruling, Decision below denying motion to dismiss is affirmed. | |
| 10/02/2020: Order/Ruling, Without explanation, the court withdrew its previous, September 4th, order. | ||
