Pennsylvania: Rejection of Mail-In Ballots for Date Technicalities
In June 2024, the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, represented by Fair Elections Center and LeVan Stapleton Segal Cochran LLC, filed a lawsuit against the Lancaster County Board of Elections to challenge the rejection of mail-in and absentee ballots that are missing the last two digits of the year from the handwritten date on the outer return envelope.
A month later, as part of a mandatory directive to all 67 county Boards of Elections, the Pennsylvania Department of State has instructed the full year to be pre-printed on the return envelope for mail-in and absentee ballots, instead of requiring voters to complete the last two digits of the year by hand. Having achieved what it set out to accomplish, PARA voluntarily discontinued its lawsuit.
Florida: Illegal Purge of Voter Rolls (2014)
When Florida started removing voters from its rolls within the 90 days before a federal election, FELN and other national partners stepped in to defend those voters’ rights.
Tennessee: Using a Student ID Card as Voter ID
In 2015, Fair Elections Legal Network and Nashville law firm, Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, LLC filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s voter ID law as violating the voting rights of Tennessee students.
Ohio: Young Voters Excluded from Presidential Primary (2016)
As the 2016 primary season heated up, young voters in Ohio were dealt a surprise when the Secretary of State ordered that 17-year-olds who would be 18 by the time of the general election were not eligible to cast a vote in the presidential primaries.
Louisiana: Discriminatory Proof of Citizenship Requirement (2016)
In the Spring of 2016, FELN and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed suit claiming that Louisiana was discriminating against naturalized citizens by requiring them to provide citizenship documents when registering to vote.
Virginia: Restoration of Voting Rights for People with Felony Convictions (2016)
In June 2016, the Fair Elections Legal Network and Jenner & Block filed an amicus brief in the challenge to the Virginia ex-felon restoration order, Howell v. McAuliffe, which was filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Kansas, Georgia & Alabama: Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration (2016)
In late July 2016, FELN filed an amicus brief as part of a suit over changes to the national mail voter registration form.
Joint Memo with ACLU-NH: NH Residency Requirements Target Students (2018)
Fair Elections Center joined the ACLU-NH in a joint memorandum before the New Hampshire Supreme Court arguing that HB 1264 should not be reviewed by the Court at this time, and if it is reviewed, is unconstitutional. This bill imposes motor vehicle fees on voters who live in New Hampshire, but who know they will be leaving the state at some point in the future, which would have a particular impact on college students.
Florida: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration
In March, 2017, Fair Elections Legal Network and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC filed a class action lawsuit that seeks to automatically restore former felons’ voting rights upon the completion of a sentence and end Florida’s arbitrary process for re-enfranchisement.
Kentucky: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration
In December 2018, Fair Elections Center and the Kentucky Equal Justice Center joined a lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s arbitrary process for voting rights restoration for felons. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of eight former felons.
