Election Help Desk: 10/26/20

Friday's election changes . Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk Newsletter Welcome to Ballotpedia's Election Help Desk Newsletter. In each issue, we: Detail the changes to election dates and procedures since our last edition Track lawsuits from the presidential campaigns and major political parties Answer one frequently asked question about the election List upcoming election process dates and deadlines We understand you may have questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. We are dedicated to providing you with accurate, objective, and measured answers to those questions. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to receive your copy here.  Days until election day: 8         Recent news Here are the changes made to election dates and rules since our last edition, including legal decisions, executive actions, and legislation. Roundup Texas: On Oct. 24, the Texas Supreme Court reinstated Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) order restricting the number of absentee/mail-in ballot return locations to one per county.  On Oct. 23, Texas' Third Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's Oct. 14 ruling that suspended Abbott's order. The state immediately appealed this decision to the state supreme court, which temporarily reinstated the order pending further review. The state supreme court's Oct. 24 ruling is the latest in a series of court actions on this question. On Oct. 10, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously upheld Abbott's directive, reversing a lower court's decision. For more information about these rulings, see our Oct. 12 edition.  Lawsuits To date, we have tracked 409 lawsuits and/or court orders involving election policy issues and the COVID-19 outbreak. Click here to view the complete list of lawsuits and court orders. Here's the latest on noteworthy litigation. Examples of noteworthy litigation include, but are not limited to, lawsuits filed by presidential campaigns and major political parties, and cases decided by state supreme courts.   Nevada: On Oct. 23, Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson declined to intervene and block Clark County officials from processing and counting mail-in ballots.  Earlier on Oct. 23, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., and the Republican Party of Nevada sued Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske (R) and Clark County Registrar of Voters Joseph Gloria. The plaintiffs sought "a temporary restraining order barring [the defendants] from separating or counting ballots in Clark County until the proper procedures are in place that facilitate transparency and allow for meaningful observation of the process by the public."  Although Wilson declined the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order, he did schedule a preliminary hearing on the matter for Oct. 28. Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) said, "A 'proper procedure' is in place. That's why [my office] just defeated [the plaintiffs'] request for a temporary restraining order to stop the counting of ballots. Again I say, we will protect the right to vote, and we won't let it be suppressed.”    Pennsylvania: On Oct. 23, the Pennsylvania Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and block election officials from counting mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 6.  On Sept. 17, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued an order extending the mail-in ballot receipt deadline to Nov. 6, overriding the statutory Election Day receipt deadline. On Sept. 28, Joseph Scarnati and Jake Corman, Republican legislative leaders, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the statutory receipt deadline. On Oct. 19, the high court voted 4-4, allowing the extension to stand. Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan voted not to intervene. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh voted to grant the petition. When the court reaches a tie vote, the lower court's ruling is allowed to stand. Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan are Democratic presidential appointees. The remaining justices are Republican appointees. In its Oct. 23 brief, the Republican Party is asking the court to set an expedited schedule for considering the following questions:  Whether the state supreme court usurped the state legislature's authority in ordering the extension. Whether federal laws establishing a uniform, nationwide Election Day preempt the extension. The U.S. Senate is expected to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the vacant ninth seat on the Supreme Court on Oct. 26. If confirmed and sworn in, Barrett could participate in this and other election-related matters before the court.    Also in Pennsylvania: On Oct. 21, Judge Matthew Brann of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled that Philadelphia, Centre County, and Delaware County election officials could use private grants to pay for election administration costs. The Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), a nonprofit group, awarded approximately $14 million in grants to election departments in Philadelphia, Centre County, and Delaware County. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have donated $350 million to CTCL to fund these and similar grants.  The Pennsylvania Voters Alliance and state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R) sued, alleging they had been "injured by CTCL's private federal election grants because they are targeted to counties and cities with progressive voter patterns." They also argued that federal law prohibits municipalities "from entering into a public-private partnership with CTCL for federal election administration by receiving CTCL's private federal election grant." Brann, a Barack Obama (D) appointee, rejected these arguments, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate standing to bring a complaint: "Plaintiffs make sweeping constitutional claims. But there is less to this case than meets the eye. That is because, despite their assertions, Plaintiffs cannot satisfy the threshold standing requirement of Article III [of the U.S. Constitution].  On Oct. 23, the plaintiffs appealed Brann's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.  On Oct. 22, the South Carolina Voters Alliance filed a federal lawsuit involving similar questions about the use of private grants to fund election administration costs. That suit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.  Today: Can candidates or voters request election recounts? The Help Desk daily feature will answer one frequently asked question or provide a summary of key election dates and policies each day. Today we take a look at whether candidates or voters can request recounts. Election recounts typically occur in the event of a close margin of victory, accusations of election fraud, or the possibility of administrative errors.  Candidates may request a recount in 43 states. Those states are highlighted in the map below. To read more about specific rules for candidate-requested recounts by state, click here.  Voters may request a recount in 35 states. State law defines the elections in which voters have standing to request a recount. In five states, state law does not limit voters to requesting recounts in specific elections. In 29 states, voters are limited to requesting recounts for ballot measures. In Delaware, voters may only request a recount in local school board elections. In South Dakota, voters may request recounts in specific precincts for any election but are otherwise limited to only requesting recounts for ballot measures. Each of those types of states is highlighted on the map below. To learn more about the states where candidates and voters can request a recount, click here. What we’re reading today WPXI: “Agreement reached over incorrect ballots sent to voters in Allegheny County” The Wall Street Journal: “How Delayed Is Your Mail-In Ballot?” The Conversation: “How to track your mail-in ballot” The Washington Post: “When we’ll find out election results: Here’s what we know about swing states, ballot counting and more” Upcoming dates and deadlines Here are the key deadlines for voter registration, early voting, and absentee/mail-in voting coming up in the next seven days. For coverage of all dates, deadlines, and requirements, click here. Voter registration deadlines: October 27: Connecticut (in-person, mail-in postmarked, online) October 29: Nevada (online) October 30: Wisconsin (in-person) October 31: New Mexico (in-person)   Early voting begins: October 27: District of Columbia October 29: Oklahoma Early voting ends: October 27: Pennsylvania Louisiana October 29: Tennessee October 30: Maine Arizona Georgia Texas Massachusetts Nevada Idaho Utah October 31: Virginia North Carolina New Mexico West Virginia Oklahoma November 1: Florida Wisconsin New York November 2: Minnesota South Dakota Wyoming Vermont Illinois Michigan Montana California Iowa Nebraska South Carolina Indiana Ohio Kentucky Kansas Rhode Island Washington Alaska Arkansas Colorado North Dakota Hawaii Maryland District of Columbia   Absentee/mail-in voting request deadline: October 27: District of Columbia (in-person, mail-in received, online) Hawaii (in-person, mail-in received) Kansas (in-person, mail-in received) Kentucky (in-person, mail-in received) North Carolina (in-person, mail-in received, online) Oklahoma (in-person, mail-in received, online) Pennsylvania (in-person, mail-in received, online) Tennessee (in-person, mail-in received) New York (mail-in postmarked, online) New Jersey (mail-in received) California (mail-in received) Arkansas (mail-in received) October 28: Massachusetts (in-person, mail-in received, online) West Virginia (in-person, mail-in received, online) October 29: Alabama (in-person, mail-in received) Wisconsin (in-person, mail-in received, online) Illinois (mail-in received, online) Maine (mail-in received, online) October 30: Delaware (in-person, mail-in received, online) Louisiana (in-person, mail-in received, online) Maine (in-person) South Carolina (in-person) Georgia (mail-in received, online) Michigan (mail-in received, online) October 31: Ohio (in-person, mail-in received) November 2: Arkansas (in-person) Connecticut (in-person, mail-in received) Illinois (in-person) Michigan (in-person) Minnesota (in-person, mail-in received, online) Montana (in-person, mail-in received) New Hampshire (in-person, mail-in received) New York (in-person) North Dakota (in-person, mail-in received, online) South Dakota (in-person, mail-in received) Vermont (in-person, mail-in received, online) Wyoming (in-person)   Absentee/mail-in voting return deadline: November 2: Alabama (in-person, mail-in postmarked) Arkansas (in-person) Connecticut (in-person) Louisiana (in-person, mail-in received) North Dakota (in-person, mail-in postmarked) Oklahoma (in-person) West Virginia (in-person) Iowa (mail-in postmarked) Ohio (mail-in postmarked) Utah (mail-in postmarked) And a dose of calm