[1][2][3] "[O]ver 230 election-related federal lawsuits were filed from January 1 to October 23, higher than any of the past three presidential election years during the same time period", according to a USA Today analysis.
The deciding vote has often fallen to Chief Justice John Roberts, according to Jonathan Adler, a professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Lack of merit due to federal courts "sphere does not extend to second-guessing and interfering with a State’s reasonable, nondiscriminatory election rules."
On June 10, 2020, the Arizona Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in federal court, challenging a state law that requires those who vote by mail to correct missing signatures by election day.
On October 6, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit overruled Rayes, finding that the election day deadline to correct a missing signature imposes a minimal burden on voters.
[12] Judge Logan granted the request, finding that "[b]allot access is an extremely important right, and it has been restricted during this unprecedented time.
On November 14, 2020, Sutter County Judge Sarah H. Heckman finalized a ruling saying Governor Newsom overstepped his authority in doing so.
"[34] On September 22, 2020, two Republican presidential elector nominees, James Carson and Eric Lucero, filed a lawsuit in federal court, arguing that a consent decree entered into by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and the Alliance for Retired Americans Educational Fund is unconstitutional.
On October 23, the Nevada Republican Party and the Trump campaign joined a private citizen in filing a lawsuit in the First Judicial District Court of Nevada[37] against Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and Clark County registrar of voters Joe Gloria, citing alleged problems with the signature verification process.
[36] In August 2020, the Trump campaign sued New Jersey state officials in federal court, seeking to overturn an executive order issued by governor Phillip Murphy.
The Trump campaign argued that the order violates the U.S. Constitution, which gives power to state legislatures to conduct congressional elections and select electors for the U.S. presidency.
[46] Starting on September 22, 2020, Pennsylvania State Legislature Republicans led by Joe Scarnati filed applications seeking a stay on the decision of the case.
The denial of the application filled in the United States Supreme Court was denied in a 4-4 decision due to Justice Amy Coney Barrett not being confirmed yet.
The denial of these applications led to both United States Supreme Court cases Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Boockvar (No.
This includes whether they had the authority to provide injunctive relief allowing ballots received in the state after 8 p.m. on Election Day to count.
[52] The next day on October 28, 2020, the United States Supreme Court rejected a motion to expedite Republican Party of Pennsylvania v. Boockvar.
On November 6, 2020, Justice Samuel Alito ordered all ballots received after 8 p.m on Election Day to be kept and tabulated separately pending the outcome of this litigation.
[58] This action was filed on October 28, 2020, in federal court in Houston by Republican activist Steven Hotze and GOP candidates.
[70][71] U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen dismissed the complaint on November 2,[57] finding that the plaintiffs lacked standing.
It was also reported that he stated during the remotely-conducted motion hearing that the Republicans needed to prove an "evil motive" to have the ballots thrown out and finding that they failed to do so.
On September 10, a different panel of the 5th Circuit issued a lengthy merits opinion that vacated Judge Biery's preliminary injunction, finding that the Texas law limiting no-excuse mail-in voting did not violate the Twenty-sixth Amendment.
The groups sought to block the Governor's order limiting the number of absentee ballot drop-off sites to one per county, arguing that the order violated the U.S. Constitution and federal Voting Rights Act because it imposed burdens on older, sick, and disabled voters and disproportionately affected more populous counties.