Five Election-Related Legal Cases You Should Know About This Week

The League is at the forefront of the most important federal and state cases across the United States. Here’s a list of the top five election-related legal cases you should know about this week. For case summaries, timelines, and additional information regarding our litigation practice, please visit LWV’s Legal Center. For press inquiries, email us at [email protected].   

October 18, 2024

• Federal: Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice v. Allen (voter purges) 

A federal judge halted Alabama’s illegal, last-minute purge program, which jeopardized the freedom to vote for thousands of Alabamians. The judge held that Alabama could not systematically operate its program to remove voters from the rolls in the 90 days before the 2024 general election. The League of Women Voters of Alabama, Alabama voters, and civil rights groups successfully defended naturalized Americans who were unfairly purged from Alabama’s voter rolls. 

• Federal: Georgia Voters and Voting Rights Organizations Praise Injunctions of Multiple SEB Rules, including Hand-Count Rule (certification of elections)

This week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Cox issued an order permanently enjoining several recently adopted Georgia State Election Board (SEB) rules, including two rules related to certification of elections and a rule mandating the hand-counting of ballots. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney also issued a ruling last night blocking the SEB’s hand-counting of ballots rule across the state prior to county certification of election results. 

• Federal: Texas OCA-Greater Houston v. Esparza (consolidated as La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Abbott)(SB1) (voter assistance)

In a victory for voting rights, a federal district court ruled Friday that provisions of Texas’ anti-voter law Senate Bill 1 (SB1) violate federal law. Specifically, the court ruled that the voter assistance provision, which criminalizes compensated mail-ballot assistance, violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). 

• State: Public Interest Groups Urge US Attorney General and Wisconsin Attorney General To Investigate Illegal Attempt to Intimidate Thousands of Young Voters in Wisconsin (voter intimidation)

The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin issued a letter this week to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, represented by Free Speech For People, asking that they investigate threatening text messages sent to young people, identify the source, and promptly take appropriate enforcement action against the perpetrators to protect Wisconsin’s voters.   

• Federal: Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights v. Beals (voter purges) 

Following the League’s lawsuit last week, the Justice Department also filed a lawsuit against Virginia election officials, accusing the state of striking names from voter rolls in violation of federal election law.