Recent news
Here are the changes made to election dates and rules since our last edition, including legal decisions, executive actions, and legislation.
Roundup
North Carolina: On Oct. 29, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate North Carolina's statutory absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline, allowing the state election board's extension to stand. Ballots postmarked on or before Election Day will be counted if they are received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12. The statutory receipt deadline, which is not in effect, would have required ballots to be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 6.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Brett Kavanaugh formed the majority. Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented. Newly-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not take part in the case.
Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett are Donald Trump (R) appointees. Sotomayor and Kagan are Barack Obama (D) appointees. Roberts and Alito are George W. Bush (R) appointees. Thomas and Breyer are George H.W. Bush (R) and Bill Clinton (D) appointees, respectively.
Neither the court majority nor the dissenting justices issued opinions. The court rejected a similar challenge on Oct. 28.
Background: The U.S. Supreme Court's Oct. 29 decision is the latest in a series of court actions surrounding North Carolina's absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline. Click here for a chronological breakdown of these developments.
Lawsuits
To date, we have tracked 418 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 lawsuits filed by presidential campaigns and major political parties, and state supreme court cases.
Michigan: On Oct. 29, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's decision that suspended Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's (D) order prohibiting the open carry of firearms in or near polling places.
Judges Patrick Meter, Michael Gadola, and Brock Swartzle were unanimous in their decision, finding that existing law prohibits voter intimidation: "Anyone who intimidates a voter in Michigan by brandishing a firearm or, for that matter, by threatening with a knife, baseball bat, fist, or otherwise menacing behavior, is committing a felony under existing law." Republican governors appointed all three judges to the bench.
Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) filed an emergency appeal of the decision with the Michigan Supreme Court.
Background: On Oct. 16, Benson directed county officials that the "open carry of a firearm is prohibited in a polling place, in any hallway used by voters to enter or exit, or within 100 feet of any entrance to a building in which a polling place is located." Benson said: "The presence of firearms at the polling place, clerk’s office(s), or absent voter counting board may cause disruption, fear, or intimidation for voters, election workers, and others present."
Several groups–including Michigan Open Carry, Michigan Gun Owners, and Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners–sued Benson, alleging her directive was "conjured without any legal basis or authorization under Michigan law."
On Oct. 27, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray sided with the plaintiffs and blocked Benson's order, prompting the appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals. Gov. John Engler (R) appointed Murray to the bench.
Minnesota: On Oct. 29, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled 2-1 that the extension of Minnesota's absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline was likely unconstitutional "because the Secretary [of State] extended the deadline for receipt of ballots without legislative authorization." The court stopped short of invalidating the extension. Instead, it directed officials to keep ballots received after Nov. 3 separate from the others "in the event a final order is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction determining such votes to be invalid or unlawfully counted."
Judges Bobby Shepherd and Steven Grasz formed the majority. Shepherd and Grasz are George W. Bush (R) and Donald Trump (R) appointees, respectively. Judge Jane Kelly, a Barack Obama (D) appointee, dissented.
Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) criticized the ruling, calling it "a tremendous and unnecessary disruption to Minnesota's election."
Background: On Aug. 3, a state court approved a settlement between the plaintiffs and the state defendants in LaRose v. Simon. Under the terms of the settlement, the state agreed to accept absentee/mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. This superseded the statutory receipt deadline of Nov. 3.
James Caron and Eric Lucero, Minnesota voters and Republican presidential elector nominees, sued Secretary of State Steve Simon (D), alleging the deadline extension was unconstitutional. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the suit, prompting Carson and Lucero to appeal to the Eighth Circuit.
Today: Voter ID requirements
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 voter identification requirements.
Voter identification laws require voters to present some form of identification at the polls. In some cases, the required identification must include a photo. The breakdown of voter identification laws across the country is as follows:
- Eighteen states require voters to present photo identification
- Sixteen states require voters to present non-photo identification
- Sixteen states and the District of Columbia do not require voters to present identification
The map below highlights voter identification requirements by state.
To read more about voter identification requirements and what forms of identification are accepted in each state, click here.
What we’re reading today
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 31:
- November 3:
- California (in-person)
- Colorado (in-person)
- District of Columbia (in-person)
- Idaho (in-person)
- Illinois (in-person)
- Maine (in-person)
- Michigan (in-person)
- Montana (in-person)
- Vermont (in-person, mail-in received, online)
- Washington (in-person)
- Early voting begins:
- Early voting ends:
- 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 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)
- November 3:
- California (in-person)
- Maryland (in-person)
- New Jersey (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)
- November 3:
- Arizona (in-person, mail-in received)
- California (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Colorado (in-person, mail-in received)
- Delaware (in-person, mail-in received)
- District of Columbia (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Florida (in-person, mail-in received)
- Georgia (in-person, mail-in received)
- Hawaii (in-person, mail-in received)
- Idaho (in-person, mail-in received)
- Illinois (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Indiana (in-person, mail-in received)
- Iowa (in-person)
- Kansas (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Kentucky (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Maine (in-person, mail-in received)
- Maryland (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Massachusetts (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Michigan (in-person, mail-in received)
- Minnesota (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Montana (in-person, mail-in received)
- Nebraska (in-person, mail-in received)
- Nevada (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- New Hampshire (in-person, mail-in received)
- New Jersey (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- New Mexico (in-person, mail-in received)
- New York (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- North Carolina (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Ohio (in-person)
- Oregon (in-person, mail-in received)
- Pennsylvania (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Rhode Island (in-person, mail-in received)
- South Carolina (in-person, mail-in received)
- South Dakota (in-person, mail-in received)
- Texas (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Utah (in-person)
- Vermont (in-person, mail-in received)
- Virginia (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Washington (in-person, mail-in postmarked)
- Wisconsin (in-person, mail-in received)
- Wyoming (in-person, mail-in received)
- Mississippi (mail-in postmarked)
- Missouri (mail-in received)
- Tennessee (mail-in received)
- Arkansas (mail-in received)
- Connecticut (mail-in received)
- Oklahoma (mail-in received)
- West Virginia (mail-in postmarked)
- Alaska (mail-in postmarked)
And a dose of calm
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