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
Fay v. Merrill
Closed
Fay v. Merrill, No. SC20477 (Conn. S. Ct.) |
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| Case Summary | Congressional candidates challenged the Sec. of State's implementation of no-excuse absentee voting due to COVID. Plaintiffs claim that neither the Sec. of State nor the Governor can change absentee voting rules, only legislature. Court held that original jurisdiction proceeding in the Supreme Court was not proper, as case should have been brought in Superior Court. | |
| Filed | 07/01/2020 | |
| State | Connecticut | |
| Type of Court | State | |
| Status | Closed (Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Jurisdiction Granted, Case Dismissed; losing party failed to file petition in time-frame ordered by the Supreme Court for Reconsideration to re-hear the case en banc) | |
| Last Updated | 09/01/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Allow No-Excuse Vote by Mail) Authority To Act (Other) |
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| Complaint(s) | 07/01/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 07/20/2020: Order/Ruling, PI and emergency TRO denied. The Court concluded that the Connecticut election laws, including the modification due to Covid19 do not unconstitutionally burden plaintiff’s rights and that the plaintiff had not proven that the laws impose a severe burden on their First or Fourteenth Amendment rights. | |
Fay v. Merrill, No. HHD-CV20-6130532 (Conn. Super. Ct., Hartford), No. SC200027 (Conn. S. Ct.) |
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| Case Summary | Congressional candidates challenged the Sec. of State's implementation of no-excuse absentee voting due to COVID. Plaintiffs claim that neither the Sec. of State nor the Governor can change absentee voting rules, only legislature. This case was filed in Superior Court after denial of claims in Supreme Court. Challenge is to Governor's Executive Order to permit absentee voting due to COVID, which a voter may invoke if there was no widely available vaccine at the time of the primary. | |
| Filed | 07/21/2020 | |
| State | Connecticut | |
| Type of Court | State | |
| Status | Closed (Appealed to Supreme Court; failed to file motion for reconsideration en banc within given timeframe) | |
| Last Updated | 09/01/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Allow No-Excuse Vote by Mail) | |
| Complaint(s) | 07/21/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 07/22/2020: Order/Ruling, Dismissed because conduct complained of is constitutional | |
| 08/06/2020: Order/Ruling, Order affirming dismissal. | ||
