COVID-Related Election Litigation Tracker

Case Details

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

 

Harding v. Edwards

Active

Harding v. Edwards, No. 3:20-cv-00495 (M.D. La.)

  Case Summary Plaintiffs are citizens of Louisiana who raise concerns about certain provisions of LA law that, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in LA (described as being among the most dire in the U.S.), create an undue burden on the right to vote (1st and 14th Amendments, Voting Rights Act) with provisions that limit absentee voting by mail and in-person early voting. (1) Plaintiffs allege that statutory "excuse requirements" too narrowly define eligibility to vote by mail, forcing most voters to "endure unacceptable health risks (and to increase the health risk to the community)" of exposure to COVID-19 in order to vote. (2) Plaintiffs also complain that LA reduced the number of early voting days from 13 to 7, increasing the number of voters (and exposure risk) at polling places at any given time. (3) Plaintiffs complaints are underpinned by the State's April 2020 COVID-19 "Emergency Plan" that created five narrow excuses COVID-19 related excuses voters could use to request an absentee ballot (for the primary elections) and expanding early voting from 7 to 13 days before election day.
Filed 08/03/2020
State Louisiana
Type of Court Federal
Circuit Fifth Circuit
Status Active
Last Updated 10/18/2020
Issue Tag(s) Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Allow Fear of COVID to Qualify as “Excuse”, Other Vote-by-Mail Issue)
In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Early Voting Availability/Dates)
Failure to Allow High Risk Status/Circumstances to Qualify as "Excuse"
Complaint(s) 08/03/2020: Complaint filed.
Dispositive Ruling(s) 09/16/2020: Order/Ruling, The court denied plaintiffs’ motion for injunctive relief to increase the period of early voting. The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion for injunctive relief to enjoin entirely the operation of the Louisiana's statutory excuse requirement. The granted plaintiffs’ alternative motion for injunctive relief to make available the COVID-19 Ballot Application that was used during the July and August 2020 elections and to supply absentee by mail ballots to voters who validly request absentee ballots.
09/21/2020: Order/Ruling, The Court granted more limited injunctive relief as to early voting. It ordered that the period of early voting for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General and Open Congressional Primary Election be increased to a ten-day period from Friday, October 16, 2020 to Tuesday, October 27, 2020 (excluding Sunday, October 18 and Sunday, October 25) from 8:00am to 7:00pm each day.

Harding v. Edwards, No. 20-30632 (5th Cir.)

  Case Summary Plaintiffs are citizens of Louisiana who raise concerns about certain provisions of LA law that, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in LA (described as being among the most dire in the U.S.), create an undue burden on the right to vote under the 1st and 14th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act with provisions that limit absentee voting by mail and in-person early voting. (1) Plaintiffs allege that statutory "excuse requirements" too narrowly define eligibility to vote by mail, forcing most voters to "endure unacceptable health risks (and to increase the health risk to the community)" of exposure to COVID-19 in order to vote. (2) Plaintiffs also allege that LA reduced the number of early voting days from 13 to 7, increasing the number of voters (and exposure risk) at polling places at any given time. (3) Plaintiffs complaints are underpinned by the State's April 2020 COVID-19 "Emergency Plan" that created five narrow excuses COVID-19 related excuses voters could use to request an absentee ballot (for the primary elections) and expanding early voting from 7 to 13 days before election day. After the granting of an injunction by the district court extending the early voting period, the State of Louisiana appealed.
Filed 10/13/2020
State Louisiana
Type of Court Federal
Circuit Fifth Circuit
Status Active
Last Updated 08/03/2021
Issue Tag(s) Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Allow Fear of COVID to Qualify as “Excuse”)
In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Early Voting Availability/Dates)
Complaint(s) 10/13/2020: Complaint filed.
Dispositive Ruling(s) 02/11/2021: Other, Motion to dismiss carried with the case.
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