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
Powell v. Benson
Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (Defendant to pay attorney's fees and provide plaintiff and similarly situated Michigan citizens with visual impairments the full opportunity to utilize absentee ballots through accommodation tailored to maintain privacy and independence afforded non-impaired citizenry. The terms of settlement include: i) Defendants will implement a remote accessible vote-by-mail system (“RAVBM”) that shall allow voters with print disabilities to review and mark vote-by-mail ballots electronically, privately and independently starting in the August 22 primary for all future elections, ii) Defendants will train election officials and notify the general public as to how to use and access RAVBM voting, iii) Within 45 days following the August, 22 and November, 22 elections the defendants will notify the plaintiffs of a) the number of individuals requesting an accessible ballot b) the number of individuals who completed a RAVBM ballot and c) descriptions of complaints and feedback filed by users of RAVBM ballots, iv) Within 1 days of the settlement the defendants will file a press release detailing the conditions of the settlement and uploading them to the Secretary of State website for public viewing, v) Plaintiffs wave and release all charges against the defendants filed in their complaint on 4/25/22.)
Powell v. Benson, No. 2:20-cv-11023 (E.D. Mich.) |
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| Case Summary | Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violates the ADA by failing to provide an absentee ballot that is accessible to persons with visual impairments by not providing or authorizing use of readily available software or providing a paper ballot embossed with braille. By failing to provide means for visually impaired persons to access and respond to ballot questions, such persons must request the aid of another person thereby depriving a protected class of citizen the same protections of privacy and independence afforded to the non-visually impaired population. | |
| Filed | 04/25/2020 | |
| State | Michigan | |
| Type of Court | Federal | |
| Circuit | Sixth Circuit | |
| Status | Closed. Settled and/or Withdrawn (Defendant to pay attorney's fees and provide plaintiff and similarly situated Michigan citizens with visual impairments the full opportunity to utilize absentee ballots through accommodation tailored to maintain privacy and independence afforded non-impaired citizenry. The terms of settlement include: i) Defendants will implement a remote accessible vote-by-mail system (“RAVBM”) that shall allow voters with print disabilities to review and mark vote-by-mail ballots electronically, privately and independently starting in the August 22 primary for all future elections, ii) Defendants will train election officials and notify the general public as to how to use and access RAVBM voting, iii) Within 45 days following the August, 22 and November, 22 elections the defendants will notify the plaintiffs of a) the number of individuals requesting an accessible ballot b) the number of individuals who completed a RAVBM ballot and c) descriptions of complaints and feedback filed by users of RAVBM ballots, iv) Within 1 days of the settlement the defendants will file a press release detailing the conditions of the settlement and uploading them to the Secretary of State website for public viewing, v) Plaintiffs wave and release all charges against the defendants filed in their complaint on 4/25/22.) | |
| Last Updated | 09/01/2020 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Failure to Provide Vote-by-Mail Accommodations for Voters with Disabilities) In-Person Voting COVID Concern (Lack of Safety Measures for In-Person Voting) Language Access |
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| Complaint(s) | 04/25/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| 04/28/2020: Complaint, Amended Complaint. filed. | ||
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 05/01/2020: Order/Ruling, TRO Settled. Parties agree that upon submission of an authenticated application for accommodation due to a qualified impairment, Defendant shall make ballots available to individuals that are accessible online and compatible with screen reader technology. Ballot envelopes must be signed by the voter and returned in-person, by mail, or by pickup from the clerk’s office so long as they are submitted in a timely fashion prior to the stated deadline. These stipulations apply only to the May 5th election/ballot and does not address Plaintiff’s motion for injunction related to the August and November ballots. | |
| 05/19/2020: Order/Ruling, Case Settled. Defendant to pay attorney's fees and provide Plaintiff and similarly situated MI citizens with visual impairments the full opportunity to utilize absentee ballots through accommodation tailored to maintain privacy and independence afforded non-impaired citizenry. The terms of settlement include: i) Defendants will implement a remote accessible vote-by-mail system (“RAVBM”) that shall allow voters with print disabilities to review and mark vote-by-mail ballots electronically, privately and independently starting in the August 2020 primary for all future elections. ii) Defendants will train election officials and notify the general public as to how to use and access RAVBM voting. iii) Within 45 days following the August, 2020 and November, 2020 elections the defendants will notify the plaintiffs of a) the number of individuals requesting an accessible ballot b) the number of individuals who completed a RAVBM ballot and c) descriptions of complaints and feedback filed by users of RAVBM ballots. iv) Within 10 days of the settlement the defendants will file a press release detailing the conditions of the settlement and uploading them to the Secretary of State website for public viewing. v) Plaintiffs wave and release all charges against the defendants filed in their complaint on 4/25/2020. | ||
