Actions & Cases
Explore our cases and actions, including relevant court documents.
Western Native Voice v. Jacobsen
ELC is supporting The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Montana, and Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in their challenge of two new Montana laws that hinder Native American participation in state elections.
Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
ELC, along with Law Forward, Stafford Rosenbaum, Campaign Legal Center, and Arnold & Porter are representing nineteen Wisconsin voters in a lawsuit challenging gerrymandered state legislative maps in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. These unfair maps have resulted in skewed representation, violating the Wisconsin constitution.
Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
The Election Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professors Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos and Jowei Chen to the Supreme Court in support of Appellees. The brief details the applications and value of computational redistricting in the racial gerrymandering context. Unlike racial vote dilution cases, which hinge on discriminatory effects, racial gerrymandering claims depend on discriminatory intent. Computational redistricting can provide probative evidence of this legislative intent.
The Election Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professors Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos and Jowei Chen to the Supreme Court in support of Appellees. The brief details the applications and value of computational redistricting in the racial gerrymandering context. Unlike racial vote dilution cases, which hinge on discriminatory effects, racial gerrymandering claims depend on discriminatory intent. Computational redistricting can provide probative evidence of this legislative intent.
Citizens Project v. City of Colorado Springs
The ELC is representing Plaintiffs Citizens Project, Colorado Latinos Vote, the League of Women Voters of the Pikes Peak Region, and the Black/Latino Leadership Coalition in a lawsuit challenging the timing of off-cycle municipal elections in the City of Colorado Springs. The City’s unusual practice of holding non-November elections disproportionately impacts Hispanic and Black residents and violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Allen v. Milligan
The Supreme Court upheld the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect the opportunity for communities of color to elect candidates of choice. The Supreme Court’s opinion relied heavily on the amicus brief filed by the Election Law Clinic in its decision. The ELC brief provided the Supreme Court with empirical information about the reach of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and warned that accepting Appellants’ proposal would undermine the election of minority-preferred candidates and governmental responsiveness to minority interests, in violation of Congress’s clear instructions.
The Supreme Court upheld the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to protect the opportunity for communities of color to elect candidates of choice. The Supreme Court’s opinion relied heavily on the amicus brief filed by the Election Law Clinic in its decision. The ELC brief provided the Supreme Court with empirical information about the reach of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and warned that accepting Appellants’ proposal would undermine the election of minority-preferred candidates and governmental responsiveness to minority interests, in violation of Congress’s clear instructions.
Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP v. City of Jacksonville
The Jacksonville City Council unconstitutionally packed four City Council districts and two School Board districts with Black voters, and stripped Black voters out of adjacent districts, diminishing Black political influence in the City.
League of Women Voters of Utah v. Utah State Legislature
The Election Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professor Charles Fried to the Supreme Court of Utah in support of Plaintiffs. The brief explains that Utah’s Constitution contains provisions distinct from the federal Constitution, in particular, it includes the Free Elections and Uniform Operation of Laws Clauses. The original meaning of these constitutional protections and this Court’s own precedent compels the conclusion that partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable under Utah’s Constitution.
The Election Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of Professor Charles Fried to the Supreme Court of Utah in support of Plaintiffs. The brief explains that Utah’s Constitution contains provisions distinct from the federal Constitution, in particular, it includes the Free Elections and Uniform Operation of Laws Clauses. The original meaning of these constitutional protections and this Court’s own precedent compels the conclusion that partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable under Utah’s Constitution.
Borja v. Nago
The brief, filed by the Election Law Clinic and Campaign Legal Center to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, explains that the district court erred by applying the wrong legal standard.
The brief, filed by the Election Law Clinic and Campaign Legal Center to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, explains that the district court erred by applying the wrong legal standard.
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Portugal v. Franklin County
In conjunction with Civil Rights and Justice Clinic University of Washington School of Law, ELC filed a brief of Law School Clinics focused on Civil Rights as Amici Curiae.
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Moore v. Harper
The Election Law Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of law professors exploring doctrinal and practical problems in the adoption of the so-called “independent state legislature theory” (“ISLT”) would cause in all facets of U.S. elections.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity v. Raffensperger
The Election Law Clinic, along with Fair Districts GA, filed a friends of the court brief in support of Plaintiffs in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity v. Raffensperger to demonstrate that it is not hard to draw Georgia districts that respect the legislature’s discretionary choices while complying with the Voting Rights Act.
Harper v. Hall and NCLCV v. Hall
The Election Law Clinic, along with local counsel Poyner Spruill LLP, today filed a friend of the court brief (amicus brief) on behalf of Professor Charles Fried, the Beneficial Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. The brief asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to find partisan gerrymandering justiciable under the state’s Constitution.
West Virginia v. EPA
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court agreed to hear West Virginia v. EPA, a case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases in certain ways. Several petitioners invoke the major questions doctrine, which holds that courts should not defer to agencies’ statutory interpretation on questions of “vast economic or political significance.” The Court’s decision could also revive the nondelegation doctrine—a nearly defunct principle that Congress cannot delegate to regulatory agencies in overly broad terms.
Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
The Wisconsin Legislature and its allies have asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to redraw the State’s map in a way that would solidify the State’s 2011 partisan gerrymander for the next decade. ELC is representing five plaintiffs from Gill v. Whitford as amici curiae who want to ensure that the Wisconsin Supreme Court does not perpetuate the gerrymander under the guise of a “least-change” approach.
Staples v. DeSantis
Following a lawsuit filed by the Election Law Clinic, Governor Ron DeSantis called special elections for three majority-Black legislative districts, to be held in early 2022.
STATUS: Active
UPDATED: October 18, 2021