US District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro challenging several actions to boost voter registration. The case is in the US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The plaintiffs, consisting of 27 Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers, challenged a 2021 Biden executive order and a 2023 Shapiro announcement. The Biden executive order contained several provisions aimed at increasing voter registration. The Shapiro announcement allows Pennsylvanians to be automatically registered to vote upon getting a driver’s license. The plaintiffs asserted that the Biden executive order violated the Elections Clause of the US Constitution. Additionally, the plaintiffs argued that the Shapiro announcement violated established Pennsylvania voter application procedures.
Wilson ruled that the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the voter registration actions. Under Article 3 of the US Constitution, federal courts can only hear cases or controversies. To be a case or controversy, a plaintiff must have standing, which is established by showing an injury-in-fact that is fairly traceable to the defendant’s conduct and is likely to be redressed by a favorable decision. Wilson noted that an injury-in-fact must be a legally protected interest that is “concrete and particularized.” Here, Wilson found that the plaintiffs did not have standing because they were trying to “vindicate” injuries that the Pennsylvania legislature would suffer as a whole. Thus, Wilson concluded that the plaintiffs did not allege an “individualized and particular harm.”
In response to the dismissal, Shapiro stated:
In 2020, I defeated Donald Trump and his conspiracy theorist allies in court more than 40 times to defend Pennsylvanians’ votes and protect access to the ballot box. Today, we’ve done it again by getting their frivolous effort to stop automatic voter registration in our Commonwealth dismissed. Automatic voter registration is safe, secure, efficient, and entirely within my Administration’s authority.
This is not the only recent action by state legislators to regulate voting in anticipation of the upcoming elections. Earlier this month, Alabama’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would restrict absentee ballot assistance by charging individuals for helping others with absentee voting. Additionally, in February, the Missouri Senate passed legislation that would make it more challenging to amend the state’s constitution by imposing a higher threshold for ballot initiatives submitted to voters.
