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

 

Griffin v. Hawaii

Closed

Griffin v. Hawaii, No. 1:20-cv-00298 (D. Haw.)

  Case Summary This pro se plaintiff is a candidate for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District. He is seeking a preliminary injunction of Hawaii's mail-in voting program. Specifically, he alleges that voter fraud will result from ballots being intercepted or thrown out by accident; that the system is unfair to the disabled; that alternative in-person voting options are inadequate; and that the hasty decision by the legislature to implement the program was either illegal or against the spirit of system of free elections. Plaintiff is requesting that only official ballots be used, that USPS collect signed verification of receipt of a ballot by the voter, and "[p]ublic comparison of aggregate totals with component parts."
Filed 07/02/2020
State Hawaii
Type of Court Federal
Circuit Ninth Circuit
Status Closed
Last Updated 02/11/2021
Issue Tag(s) Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Provide Vote-by-Mail Accommodations for Voters with Disabilities, Signature Verification Standards, Claim that Mail Voting Leads to Fraud and/or Vote Dilution)
In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Number/Location of Polling Places)
Complaint(s) 07/02/2020: Complaint filed.
10/13/2020: Complaint, Amended to include basis for jurisdiction. filed.
Dispositive Ruling(s) 09/28/2020: Order/Ruling, The court grants defendants' motion to dismiss with leave to amend. Plaintiff, in the complaint, failed to fill out the "basis for jurisdiction" and "statement of claim" sections. The court dismisses for failure to state a claim and failure to provide the basis for federal jurisdiction. The court also denies Plaintiff's motion for an emergency injunction, since the primary election has already passed and because the complaint has been dismissed.
12/08/2020: Order/Ruling, The District Court dismisses this case with prejudice due to lack of standing and finds that amendment would be futile as the case is now moot.
12/08/2020: Order/Ruling, The District Court dismisses this case with prejudice due to lack of standing and finds that amendment would be futile as the case is now moot.
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