7th Circuit upholds Indiana’s process for extending polling hours
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the amended Indiana election law that prohibits individual voters from asking state courts to extend voting hours on Election Day.
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Senate to work through weekend to push Barrett onto court
Wasting no time, the Senate is on track to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by next Monday, charging toward a rare weekend session as Republicans push past procedural steps to install President Donald Trump’s pick before Election Day.
Indiana mail-in ballots already more than triple for all of 2016 vote
Indiana voters have already cast more than three times as many ballots by mail than they did throughout the entire last presidential election, and with 18 days remaining until the Nov. 3 vote, the number of total Indiana absentee ballots that have been approved is nearing the total for all of the 2016 election.
Study: Indiana among bottom 10 states for ease of voting
A new study released this week ranking the 50 states for ease of voting puts Indiana in the bottom 10, though the state’s rank has improved slightly from its position in same study two years ago.
Barrett tells doubtful Democrats she’d keep open mind on court
Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett presented herself Wednesday in her final round of Senate confirmation questioning as a judge with a traditional approach, holding deep personal and religious beliefs but committed to keeping an open mind on what would become a 6-3 conservative majority court.
7th Circuit upholds noon Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots
Absentee ballots received by local election officials after noon on Election Day will not be counted, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, reversing a lower court that had issued an injunction in light of likely mail slowdowns caused by a surge in mail-in voting due to the pandemic.
Young: For voting to count, access to casting ballots is essential
A core tenet of American citizenship is access to the ballot. Defining who is and is not a citizen has been used as a chess piece in many partisan and nonpartisan fights. Again the voting ritual is upon us, and I challenge voters to mark their ballots then plan to hold those they voted for or against accountable.
Stafford: Indiana has all sorts of election laws, but few favor voters
The Indiana Lawyer editorial staff has been covering Indiana’s voter suppression laws and how they are holding up to court challenges. So far, so good for several statutes, which is awful news for democracy and the right to vote.
Wisconsin absentee case may be headed to SCOTUS after 7th Circuit ruling
Democrats and their allies said Tuesday they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether absentee ballots in battleground Wisconsin that are received up to six days after the election can be counted — a move being fought by Republicans who have opposed other attempts across the country to expand voting.
7th Circuit fast-tracks appeal over noon Election Day deadline for receipt of absentee ballots
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has given parties just days to file briefs in an expedited appeal over a state law requiring election officials to receive absentee ballots by noon on Election Day. The court’s fast track positions it to rule on the matter just weeks ahead of the Nov. 3 election, while it issued a sharply divided opinion Thursday upholding a somewhat similar law in a Wisconsin case.
Politics has way of finding Supreme Court eager to avoid it
The Supreme Court might prefer to avoid politics, but politics has a way of finding the court.
High court reinstates S. Carolina ballot witness requirement
The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday reinstated a requirement that South Carolina residents voting by mail in November’s election get a witness to sign their ballots.
AG candidate profile: Weinzapfel says attorney general should be about policy, not politics
Democratic former Evansville Mayor and lawmaker Jonathan Weinzapfel said if elected attorney general, his actions would be based on policy, not politics, and Hoosiers’ best interests. Read Weinzapfel’s recent Q&A with Indiana Lawyer’s sibling publication, the Indianapolis Business Journal.
AG candidate profile: Rokita says he’ll be an ‘aggressive’ attorney general
Republican former Congressman and Secretary of State Todd Rokita vows to continue a conservative approach but would emphasize partnerships if elected attorney general. Read what Rokita had to say in a recent Q&A with Indiana Lawyer’s sibling publication, the Indianapolis Business Journal.
AG Hill appeals ruling blocking noon Election Day absentee receipt law
Attorney General Curtis Hill’s office is appealing a judge’s ruling that absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 must be counted. Meanwhile, the state acknowledged in its filing that election officials are taking steps to count those ballots if the judge’s order stands.
Facing a conservative turn, Supreme Court opens new term
The Supreme Court opens Monday a new term with Republicans on the cusp of realizing a dream 50 years in the making, a solid conservative majority that might roll back abortion rights, expand gun rights and shrink the power of government.
Mail-in voting advocates alert 7th Circuit to dispute with state’s argument
Plaintiffs in Indiana’s vote by mail case are questioning the state’s assertion made this week in oral arguments to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that Hoosiers can request a special exemption from the Indiana Election Commission to cast an absentee ballot if they do not meet one of the law’s categories of who may vote by mail.
Trump thrusts Supreme Court pick Barrett into election turmoil
President Donald Trump’s stark expectation that the Supreme Court will intervene to “look at the ballots” in what he calls a rigged election cast new questions Wednesday on the Senate’s rush to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the vacant seat before Nov. 3.
Challenges to Indiana voting laws pile up in 7th Circuit, which will livestream one today
Indiana’s prohibition against no-excuse absentee voting goes before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday afternoon, with the plaintiffs trying to convince the appellate panel to reverse the district judge’s ruling and allow all registered Hoosier voters to cast their ballots by mail in the Nov. 3 presidential election. The federal appeals court will livestream oral arguments in the case.
Federal judge blocks Indiana’s noon deadline for receiving mail-in ballots
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked a state law that declares mail-in absentee ballots late and invalid if they aren’t received by noon on Election Day.