In the lead-up to the 2024 election, hundreds of election-related lawsuits brought across the country present a complex litigation landscape well before all ballots are cast and counted. Many of these cases have clear echoes of the 2020 presidential election, seeking to raise unfounded fears of voter fraud or non-citizen voting, erode confidence in mail-in and absentee voting, or encourage baseless non-certification of eventual election results. Others seek to address legitimate concerns of voter disenfranchisement, needed voting administration fixes, or steps that may need to be taken to advance safe, free, and fair voting, counting, and certification of the votes.
In this top ten list updated weekly, we seek to identify the most important of these hundreds of cases for their rule of law implications and to convey an overall sense of the election litigation landscape. The criteria that we use to derive this list are as follows:
- Seriousness of implications for the democratic process;
- Potential to distort democratic process or subvert democratic outcomes in a state or nationally; and
- New and notable development or unresolved and serious legal question with implications for the democratic process.
For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact lte@justsecurity.org.
2024 Election Litigation Top 10
| Rank | Change in Position | Weeks on Chart | Case Title | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ⬆ +1 | 3 |
Georgia Election Board Challenges County courts in Georgia are hearing a series of challenges related to election certification—a Fulton County Board member had refused to certify primary results, and the State’s election board had passed rules purporting to empower county election board members to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” or examine all election documents before certifying votes. In Adams v. Fulton County, Judge Robert McBurney held on Oct. 14 that election superintendents must certify election results with “no discretion to do otherwise.” This appears to resolve a central issue in the Abhiraman case also before him, in which similar relief was sought but no opinion has been issued. That same day, the same judge blocked a rule requiring mandatory hand-counts of vote totals, a method of tabulation considered ineffective and unwieldy. Other cases challenging the new State Election Board rules are pending in Fulton (here and here), Dekalb, and Muscogee Counties. |
Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia |
| 2 | ⇅ N/A | 1 |
Center for Coalfield Justice, et al., v. Washington County Board of Elections, et al. On Oct. 4, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in a case stemming from Washington County’s refusal to notify voters if their mail-in ballots were rejected or to provide them with an opportunity to vote provisionally at the polls if their ballots were defective. The Court set a fast schedule, and all briefing concluded on Oct. 11. |
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania |
| 3 | ⇅ N/A | 1 |
Michigan Republican Party, et al., v. Benson On Oct. 8, the Michigan Republican Party, Republican National Committee, and a township clerk filed suit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson challenging the state’s policy regarding overseas voters. The federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) provides for absentee voting by military service members abroad, among others. The plaintiffs argued that UOCAVA does not provide voter eligibility to any U.S. citizens who have never themselves lived in Michigan. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 17. Republicans have also brought challenges against both Pennsylvania and North Carolina relating to UOCAVA and voters abroad, stoking controversy among armed service members and others. |
Michigan Court of Claims |
| 4 | Same | 2 |
On Sept. 27, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Alabama to prevent the systematic removal of names from voter rolls during the so-called “quiet period,” within 90 days of an election. The state’s purge is allegedly removing naturalized citizens who formerly had noncitizen identification numbers from the rolls. The lawsuit, which was consolidated with another that challenges the voter purge, alleges that Alabama is violating a provision of the National Voter Registration Act. On Oct. 11, DOJ sued Virginia on similar grounds based on an Aug. 7 Executive Order. Both cases remain pending. |
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Alabama |
| 5 | ⇅ N/A | 1 |
Genser, et al. v. Butler County Board of Elections, et al. Pennsylvania voters sued the Butler County Board of Elections over its refusal to let voters cure or correct deficiencies in their mail-in ballots. On Sept. 5, the state appeals court reversed the trial court’s Aug. 16 dismissal. The Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Pennsylvania together and the Board separately appealed the case on Sept. 8, and the PA Supreme Court accepted the Republican’s appeal on Sept. 20 (with the Board later joining the principal brief). That appeal remains pending. |
Pennsylvania Supreme Court |
| 6 | ⬆ +2 | 3 |
Mi Familia Vota, et al., v. Fontes, et al. This consolidated case challenges two Arizona laws establishing new proof of citizenship standards for voters and requiring those who cannot meet those standards to be removed from voter rolls. The case could have broader implications because the RNC and Republican state legislators have argued that the Arizona law should stand because Congress lacks authority to regulate presidential elections. Oral arguments were Sept. 10. |
U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit |
| 7 | ⇅ N/A | 1 |
Baxter, et al., v. Philadelphia Board of Elections, et al. Two voters challenged the Philadelphia Board of Elections’ decision not to count undated or misdated mail-in ballots. After the lower court ruled that the Board must count these ballots, the Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Pennsylvania together and the Board separately appealed. Briefing in this appeal concluded on Oct. 14. |
Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania |
| 8 | ⬇ -5 | 3 |
American Encore, et al., v. Fontes, et al. On Sept. 27, a federal trial court granted conservative groups’ request for a preliminary injunction blocking provisions of Arizona’s 2023 Election Procedures Manual (EPM). One of the blocked provisions required statewide certification to proceed even if a county refused to certify its vote totals. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) had updated the EPM, in part, to protect election results from efforts to thwart certification. The litigation is ongoing in the trial court, and the RNC and conservative groups have brought separate challenges to the EPM here and here. |
U.S. District Court, District of Arizona |
| 9 | ⬆ +1 | 3 |
Dagusen, et al., v. Aguilar, et al. On Sept. 11, the Republican Party, the Trump campaign, and a voter sued Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (D) and other parties alleging that Aguilar had failed to purge thousands of noncitizens from voter rolls. The lawsuit claims to have found 6,136 active voter registrations that were “positive matches” to noncitizens registered with the DMV. On Oct. 3, some of the defendants countered that claim in a motion to dismiss. |
First Judicial District Court for the State of Nevada in and for Carson City |
| 10 | ⬇ -5 | 3 |
La Union del Pueblo Entero, et al., v. Abbott, et al. A district judge in Texas struck down various provisions of a Texas law, S.B. 1 in two rulings on Sept. 28 and Oct. 11. The provision prevented paid canvassers from assisting voters with their mail-in ballots. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has used the provision as the basis for search warrants, many of which target Latino organizers and voters. On Oct. 15, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the district court’s Sept. 28 decision pending appeal. |
U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit |