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
Mi Familia Vota v. Abbott
Closed
Mi Familia Vota v. Abbott, No. 5:20-cv-00830 (W.D. Tex.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiffs Mi Familia Vota, Texas State Conference of NAACP, and individual registered voters sued Governor and Secretary of State of Texas for violating the First Amendment, the Equal Protection and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Fifteenth Amendment, section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, all as applied to elections held during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, plaintiffs claimed violation of the due process clause because short early voting periods, inaccessible early voting sites, and limited early voting hours would unjustifiably burden voters who would have to stand in long lines in large crowds, vote on electronic voting machines with shared surfaces, and obtain necessary identifications. Plaintiffs claimed violation of equal protection clause because voters able to vote in places without waiting in line and voters with option of voting by hand-marked paper ballot would not bear the same burdens as others, voters at high risk face a greater burden, and black and latino voters would be disproportionately likely to stand in long lines and subject to large crowds to vote. Plaintiffs claimed violation of the First Amendment because voters would be unjustifiably burdened in exercising their right to vote. Plaintiffs claimed violation of the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act because defendants knew that the risks posed by the pandemic disproportionately affected communities of color but failed to address them. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief to order defendants to modify in-person voting procedures during the early voting period and on Election Day to ensure safety. | |
| Filed | 07/16/2020 | |
| State | Texas | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Fifth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed () | |
| Last Updated | 10/22/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Early Voting Availability/Dates, Number/Location of Polling Places, Lack of Safety Measures for In-Person Voting, ID/Documentation Requirements, Voting Hours) | |
| Complaint(s) | 07/16/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 09/07/2020: Order/Ruling, The court dismissed the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction having determined that the case fell within the scope of the political question doctrine. | |
| 09/18/2020: Appellant Brief, Appellant-Plaintiffs allege that the district court erred in dismissing their complaint on the ground that it presented only nonjusticiable political questions. | ||
| 10/27/2020: Order/Ruling, The court partially granted plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction by declaring that Exemption 8 to the state's mask mandate, which exempted poll workers from the mask mandate, violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by constitituing a voting practice or procedure that denied or abridged the voting rights of minority groups because of an increased risk of COVID to those minorities groups. | ||
Mi Familia Vota v. Abbott, No. 20-50793 (5th Cir.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiffs Mi Familia Vota, Texas State Conference of NAACP, and individual registered voters sued Governor and Secretary of State of Texas for violating the First Amendment, the Equal Protection and Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Fifteenth Amendment, section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, all as applied to elections held during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, plaintiffs claimed violation of the due process clause because short early voting periods, inaccessible early voting sites, and limited early voting hours would unjustifiably burden voters who would have to stand in long lines in large crowds, vote on electronic voting machines with shared surfaces, and obtain necessary identifications. Plaintiffs claimed violation of equal protection clause because voters able to vote in places without waiting in line and voters with option of voting by hand-marked paper ballot would not bear the same burdens as others, voters at high risk face a greater burden, and black and latino voters would be disproportionately likely to stand in long lines and subject to large crowds to vote. Plaintiffs claimed violation of the First Amendment because voters would be unjustifiably burdened in exercising their right to vote. Plaintiffs claimed violation of the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act because defendants knew that the risks posed by the pandemic disproportionately affected communities of color but failed to address them. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief to order defendants to modify in-person voting procedures during the early voting period and on Election Day to ensure safety. After full briefing on the Motions to Dismiss and a hearing on Defendants’ 12(b)(1) arguments, the district court below concluded that “the requests for relief do not appear unreasonable and can easily be implemented to ensure that all citizens in the State of Texas feel safe and are provided the opportunity to cast their vote in the 2020 election.” ROA.876. However, the court dismissed the case on the grounds that it presented a nonjusticiable political question. The issue on appeal here is thus whether the district court erred in dismissing Plaintiffs’ Complaint in its entirety on the ground that it presented only nonjusticiable political questions that render all their claims unfit for resolution in federal court. | |
| Filed | 09/14/2020 | |
| State | Texas | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Fifth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed | |
| Last Updated | 08/13/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Lack of Safety Measures for In-Person Voting, Curbside Voting Availability, Early Voting Availability/Dates) | |
| Complaint(s) | 09/14/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 10/14/2020: Order/Ruling, The Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court's dismissal of petitioner's claims challenging Texas voting regulations as overly restrictive during COVID. However, the court separated the Voting Rights Act claim that petitioners made on appeal. The court remanded the issue of whether there is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act with respect to the Governor's executive order excusing poll workers and voters from a statewide mask mandate. | |
| 10/29/2020: Other, The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the district court’s preliminary injunction pending appeal, finding that (a) changing the election rules in the midst of voting would create disparate treatment of voters, and significant confusion and difficulty for voters and poll workers and (b) the district court erred by altering Texas’s election rules in the midst of an election. | ||
| 11/23/2020: Other, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismiss all claims. | ||
