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
Collins v. Adams
Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (Both parties filed to dismiss the section without prejudice)
Collins v. Adams, No. 3:20-cv-00375 (W.D. Ky.) |
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| Case Summary | The suit seeks to compel Kentucky to extend the same accommodations that it made for the June 2020 primary election to the November 2020 general election (and, relatedly, to hold that Kentucky's enforcement of restrictive vote-by-mail rules and new voter ID law violate the US Constitution and federal statute). The 95-page complaint details the threat posed by the COVID pandemic; the way that Kentucky's restrictive vote-by-mail and new ID rule exacerbate that threat, particularly as to vulnerable groups such as voters with medical conditions, black voters, older voters and voters with disabilities; and the factual and legal underpinnings of the precautions that were taken for the June 2020 primary election in Kentucky. The complaint details specific harm faced by individual plaintiffs who are members of vulnerable groups, harm faced by the organizational plaintiffs (voting and civil rights and community service organizations) themselves based on their need to redirect resources and funding from get-out-the-vote activities to educating voters around voter ID and other rules, and harm faced by individual members of organizational plaintiffs. Notably, the Complaint develops a strong and detailed record around the threats posed by COVID (including quotes from elected leaders on both sides of the aisle and other experts) and the way that in-person voting requirements and voter ID requirements exacerbate those threats and make compliance with voter ID rules particularly onerous, if not impossible (e.g., because of closed commonwealth offices that would issue IDs). | |
| Filed | 05/27/2020 | |
| State | Kentucky | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Sixth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (Both parties filed to dismiss the section without prejudice) | |
| Last Updated | 09/06/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Witness and/or Notary Requirement, Failure to Allow Fear of COVID to Qualify as “Excuse”, Notice/Cure for Mismatches Missing Signature or Mistakes, Mail Voting Deadlines (for Applying, Receiving, Postmark), Failure to Include ID/Documentation) In-Person Voting COVID Concern (ID/Documentation Requirements, Lack of Safety Measures for In-Person Voting) |
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| Complaint(s) | 05/27/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| 08/19/2020: Complaint, Amended Complaint. filed. | ||
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 09/01/2020: Order/Ruling, Joint Stipulation of Dismissal. | |
