The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday maintained North Carolina’s mail-in ballot deadline extension. The Fourth Circuit heard arguments en banc, and in a 12-3 vote, refused to stay the deadline extension. The ballot extension allows for mail-in ballots received nine days past the election to be counted. However, these ballots must be [...]
A US federal judge for the District of Columbia Sunday struck down a Trump administration rule that would have ended food stamps for 700,000 Americans. The court struck down the rule after finding it arbitrary and capricious for its failure to account for the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on food stamp recipient numbers. The [...]
Michigan announced new restrictions Friday prohibiting the open carry of firearms for election day activities. The policy prohibits the open carrying of firearms on election day in polling places, clerk offices, and absent voter counting boards. The ban extends to 100 feet from any of the election locations. The policy addresses recent concerns of officials over voter [...]
Freedom House, a human rights watchdog group, released a report on internet freedom in the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday criticizing government internet freedom violations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report outlined three recent, prevailing issues over internet freedom: Three notable trends punctuated an especially dismal year for internet freedom. First, political leaders used [...]
A federal appeals court on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s extension of the Indiana mail-in ballot deadline. The original deadline extension allowed for ballot submission up to 10 days after the election. However, the appeals court’s reversal mandates that all mail-in ballots arrive at Indiana elections offices by election day. The court found that the deadline [...]
Amnesty International urged the UN Security Council Monday to take action against Myanmar for military abuses. Amnesty’s condemnation of Myanmar’s military action follows after reports of intensified violence between Myanmar’s military and Araken Army that led to civilian casualties. Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns, called on the Security Council to refer [...]
A federal judge on Sunday upheld Minnesota’s extended absentee ballot deadline. The deadline allows election officials in Minnesota to count absentee ballots postmarked on election day that are received within a week of the election. In upholding the deadline, Judge Nancy Brasel found that the Republican Party of Minnesota Electors who brought the suit lacked [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit refused Tuesday to expand mail-in voting to all Indiana citizens. Instead, the appeals court stated that Indiana’s already-existing absentee voting system adequately allows citizens access to voting in the upcoming election. Indiana’s absentee voting system allows for individuals over 65 to request an absentee ballot by mail. Likewise, [...]
The US Justice Department (DOJ) asked the US Supreme Court on Tuesday to reinstate the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The DOJ argues that the Supreme Court should reinstate the penalty to give deference to the trial court’s decision, prevent new jurors from enduring a longer jury selection process, and protect victims [...]
A federal judge halted new North Carolina absentee voting rules on Friday that would have extended ballot deadlines and loosened witness requirements. The new rules came about as part of a settlement made by a state judge that would allow ballots to arrive nine days past election day if post-marked on or before election day. [...]
