State Court Archives | American Democracy Minute

Delaware Court Strikes Down Permanent Absentee Voter List and Early Voting Laws as Unconstitutional, Affecting Tens of Thousands for 2024

February 28, 2024February 28, 2024

A Delaware Superior Court judge struck down two early voting laws Feb. 23rd affecting tens of thousands of voters who were approved for a permanent absentee ballot list, and those who choose to vote early in-person.

Three Democracy Court Cases in Wisconsin May Impact Election Administration, Gerrymandering and Absentee Ballots

November 1, 2023December 28, 2023

We’re back in Wisconsin where three democracy lawsuits may have an impact on the state’s election administration, access to absentee ballots, and gerrymandered voting districts.

New Mexico Redistricting Case One of the First to Employ a Partisan Gerrymandering Test Proposed by U.S. Supreme Court’s Justice Kagan

August 28, 2023December 30, 2023

An unusual New Mexico redistricting case reaches a state district court next month. Unusual in that it’s Republicans claiming that Democrats did the partisan gerrymandering, but also that it will be one of the first cases to employ a partisan gerrymandering test suggested by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.

U.S. Supreme Court Tamps Down the Fringe “Independent State Legislature” Theory in an Important Decision for Democracy

June 28, 2023June 28, 2023

We now have a decision in Moore v. Harper, the “Independent State Legislature” theory case which had pro-voter advocates concerned for the future of voting rights. June 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that state courts DO have a say in election law, and that power doesn’t reside exclusively in state legislatures.