Articles Posted in Election Law

In A Victory for Transparency, Dark Money Donors Revealed Updated: Published by:

The Supreme Court issued an order  yesterday upholding a US Federal District Court decision  that requires, effective immediately, more transparency in the naming of of donors to non-profit groups which run advertisements for or against political candidates. The lawsuit, brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) against…

8th Circuit Court of Appeals Holds That Political Action Committees Have Freedom of Speech and Association Rights Under the First Amendment Updated: Published by:

On Monday, September 10, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found a Missouri law that banned donations between political action committees ("PACs") violated the First Amendment. Judge Steven Colloton wrote that the law "limits the donor-PAC's speech and associational rights under the First Amendment." 

State Farm Agrees to Settle Suit Alleging Improper Influence Over Judicial Election for $250M Updated: Published by:

A federal district court judge in Illinois has granted preliminary approval to a settlement between State Farm and a class of plaintiffs claiming that the insurance giant created a RICO enterprise to bankroll the election of a judge to the state's high court. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd Karmeier was…

North Carolina Democrats Hope to Erode Republican Grasp on Legislature Updated: Published by:

The North Carolina legislature historically has been dominated by Republicans, but times may be changing in a state known for extremely conservative lawmaking. While the Governor is a Democrat, the Republican supermajority in the legislature has pushed many laws past his veto over the last two years. One of the…

Supreme Court Allows Michigan to Eliminate Straight-Ticket Voting Updated: Published by:

On Friday, September 7, US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan denied an application to preserve straight-ticket voting on Michigan state ballots. The brief order indicated that Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would have granted the application. The denial of the application will mean that on the November 6 ballot,…

Federal Court Strikes Down North Carolina Voting District Plan Before November Elections Updated: Published by:

With the November elections looming, North Carolina may be required to reorganize its congressional districts. Three federal judges in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that the legislature had violated the Constitution by gerrymandering districts to favor Republicans over Democrats, as openly acknowledged by Republican state legislators.…

DNC Files RICO Lawsuit Against Russian Government, Trump Campaign Officials, WikiLeaks Updated: Published by:

The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Russian Government, numerous top officials in the Trump Campaign, and the WikiLeaks organization. The lawsuit alleges that Trump campaign officials conspired with the Russian government to help Donald Trump…

Coalition of Law Firms, Professors Files Several Lawsuits Alleging Electoral College Is Unconstitutional Updated: Published by:

Noted litigator David Boies is coordinating a multi-state effort to challenge the Electoral College in federal court. Led by Boies, several prominent law firms and professors have filed four lawsuits in four different states challenging the voting system as unconstitutional.