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
Johnakin v. United States Postal Service
Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (The parties agreed to comply with the requirements of (1) the "Clarifying Operational Instructions" made mandatory on USPS in an order in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. DeJoy, and (2) "Additional Resources for Election Mail Beginning October 1". The USPS will not implement any of the changes announced earlier in the year, and it will prioritize the delivery of election mail. And the court will maintain jurisdiction over any alleged breaches of the agreement.)
Johnakin v. United States Postal Service, No. 2:20-cv-04055 (E.D. Pa.) |
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| Case Summary | The USPS allegedly enacted operational challenges after June 2020 that reduced postal service worker hours, forbade overtime, and removed sorting machines, thus affecting the postal service's ability to deliver ballots cast by mail in a timely manner. Pennsylvania enacted a law to expand access to vote-by-mail, but the legislation only allows for counting ballots received by 8 pm on election day. Plaintiff is a Pennsylvania voter and office-seeker who asks for injunctions against the Postmaster General and the President to rescind past and prevent future operational changes that allegedly threaten to (1) deprive voters who cast otherwise valid ballots from having their votes counted, and (2) deprive voters in certain communities, particularly disadvantaged communities, from having their votes counted. | |
| Filed | 08/19/2020 | |
| State | Pennsylvania | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Third Circuit | |
| Status | Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (The parties agreed to comply with the requirements of (1) the "Clarifying Operational Instructions" made mandatory on USPS in an order in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. DeJoy, and (2) "Additional Resources for Election Mail Beginning October 1". The USPS will not implement any of the changes announced earlier in the year, and it will prioritize the delivery of election mail. And the court will maintain jurisdiction over any alleged breaches of the agreement.) | |
| Last Updated | 03/13/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (US Postal Service, Other Vote-by-Mail Issue, Other Vote-by-Mail Issue) 1st and 14th Amendment Fundamental Right to Vote Equal Protection Clause |
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| Complaint(s) | 08/19/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 10/08/2020: Other, The parties agreed to comply with the requirements of (1) the "Clarifying Operational Instructions" made mandatory on USPS in an order in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. DeJoy, and (2) "Additional Resources for Election Mail Beginning October 1". The USPS will not implement any of the changes announced earlier in the year, and it will prioritize the delivery of election mail. And the court will maintain jurisdiction over any alleged breaches of the agreement. | |
