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
Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans v. Benson
Closed
Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans v. Benson, No. 20-000108-MM (Mich. Ct. Claims) |
||
| Case Summary | Plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment to (1) enjoin the ballot receipt deadline and extend the deadline for when ballots must be received to 14 days after Election Day; (2) enjoin the postage requirement and provide pre-paid postage for all absentee ballot envelopes; and (3) enjoin the voter assistance ban and permit third parties to assist voters in submitting their sealed absentee ballots. | |
| Filed | 06/02/2020 | |
| State | Michigan | |
| Type of Court | State | |
| Status | Closed | |
| Last Updated | 03/13/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Mail Voting Deadlines (for Applying, Receiving, Postmark), Postage Requirement, Restriction on Assistance or Collection of Mail Ballots for Return) | |
| Complaint(s) | 06/02/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 09/18/2020: Order/Ruling, The court enjoined, for the general election 2020 only, the state's standard Election-Day ballot receipt deadline (which requires the ballots to be received by 8PM on Election Day). The court ordered that voters whose ballots are postmarked by one day before election day (Nov 2 instead of Nov 3) and received within 14 days of Election Day shall be counted. The court also enjoined Michigan’s voter assistance ban for the time period of the Friday prior to election until election day – a time period during which the clerk is not required to assist a voter. The court did not provide injunctive relief for Michigan’s postage requirement. | |
Michigan Alliance for Retired Americans v. Benson, Nos. 354429, 354873 (Mich. Ct. App.) |
||
| Filed | 06/02/2020 | |
| State | Michigan | |
| Type of Court | State | |
| Status | Closed | |
| Last Updated | 03/13/2021 | |
| Issue Tag(s) | Vote-by-Mail (Mail Voting Deadlines (for Applying, Receiving, Postmark), Restriction on Assistance or Collection of Mail Ballots for Return, Postage Requirement) | |
| Complaint(s) | 06/02/2020: Complaint filed. | |
| Dispositive Ruling(s) | 08/18/2020: Order/Ruling, Court of Appeals denied application for leave to appeal. State law prohibits would-be intervenor-defendants (RNC) from intervening. | |
| 10/16/2020: Other, The Court of Appeals held that the substance of plaintiffs’ complaint is a facial challenge of the relevant statutes, and the Court of Claims erred by failing to analyze the claims as an as-applied challenge. The Court then applied Anderson-Burdick and found no unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. The court reversed the injunction that allowed ballots received within 14 days to be counted. | ||
