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
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commissions
Closed
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commissions, No. 2:20-cv-01785 (E.D. Wis.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiff, Donald Trump, alleges that defendants, local government officials in Wisconsin, undermined the election. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that defendants ignored limits on the availability of mail-in balloting, created ballot dropboxes, did not provide adequate access to poll observers, "eliminated state laws requiring that voters provide information on the mail-in ballot envelope," and permitted election workers to alter ballots. Plaintiff claims that the alleged conduct violates both the Elections and Electors Clauses. As remedy, plaintiff requests that the result of the Wisconsin election be remanded to the Wisconsin state legislature. | |
| Filed | 12/02/2020 | |
| State | Wisconsin | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Seventh Circuit | |
| Status | Closed () | |
| Last Updated | 01/12/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Claim that Mail Voting Leads to Fraud and/or Vote Dilution) Authority To Act (Elections Clause, Electors Clause) |
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| Complaint(s) | 12/02/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 12/12/2020: Order/Ruling, The court found, as a threshold matter, that it had jurisdiction to resolve plaintiff’s claims (plaintiff meets standing requirements and claim is barred neither by mootness nor the Eleventh Amendment). The court then held on the merits that the plaintiff failed to prove that the WEC violated his rights under the Electors Clause. The court found that the record showed Wisconsin’s Presidential Electors were "determined in the very manner directed by the Legislature, as required by Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution." With respect to plaintiff's three complaints about the WEC’s guidance on indefinitely confined voters, the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, and corrections to witness addresses are not challenges to the “Manner” of Wisconsin’s appointment of Presidential Electors, but rather disagreements over election administration. Defendant WEC in fact conducted the election in the manner directed by the state legislature, in accordance with the Electors Clause. | |
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commissions, No. 20-3414 (7th Cir.) |
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| Case Summary | Appeal from the district court ruling. | |
| Filed | 12/12/2020 | |
| State | Wisconsin | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Seventh Circuit | |
| Status | Closed () | |
| Last Updated | 12/26/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Authority To Act (Electors Clause) | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 12/12/2020: Appellant Brief | |
| 12/24/2020: Order/Ruling, The Seventh Circuit panel rejected appellant's claim and upheld Wisconsin's election results. The circuit upheld the district court's ruling that there was no violation of the Electors Clause, agreeing that "Wisconsin lawfully appointed its electors in the manner directed by its Legislature." The court further commented that the President’s claim also fails because of the unreasonable delay in bringing suit. | ||
Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commissions, No. 20-883 (Sup. Ct.) |
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| Case Summary | Petition for cert. | |
| Filed | 12/30/2020 | |
| State | Wisconsin | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | US Supreme Court | |
| Status | Closed | |
| Last Updated | 03/31/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Authority To Act (Electors Clause) | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 12/30/2020: Appellant Brief | |
| 01/11/2021: Order/Ruling, The Court denied petitioners' motion to expedite consideration of the petitions for writs of certiorari. | ||
| 03/08/2021: Order/Ruling | ||
