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Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 16-3746 · judgment September 23, 2016

Decided · June 11, 2018
At-filing estimate: 3% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

This case considers the steps that States may take to maintain accurate voterregistration lists under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). These laws bar States from removing "the name of any person from the official list of voters registered to vote in an election for Federal office by reason of the person's failure to vote," but clarify that a State must remove a voter if the voter does not respond to a confirmation notice sent by the State and does not vote in the next two general federal elections. 52 U.S.C. §§ 20507(b)(2), 21083(a)(4)(A). Since 1994, as part of its general list-maintenance program, Ohio has sent voters who lack voter activity over a two-year period the confirmation notice that the NVR and HAVA both reference. If these voters do not respond to that notice and do not engage in any additional voter activity over the next four years (including two more federal elections), Ohio removes them from the list of registered voters and requires them to reregister if they otherwise remain eligible to vote. The Sixth Circuit held that this decades-old process violates §20507(b)(2) because Ohio uses a voter's failure to vote as the "trigger" for sending a confirmation notice to that voter. The question presented is: Does 52 U.S.C. § 20507 permit Ohio's list- maintenance process, which uses a registered voter's voter inactivity as a reason to send a confirmation notice to that voter under the NVRA and RAVA?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Eric E. Murphy
Ohio State Solicitor

For respondent
Brenda Wright

Case

Subject area
Civil Rights (estimated from the questions presented, in the Supreme Court Database’s categories)

Conference history
Distributed for 3 conferences

Amicus briefs
4 cert-stage · 27 merits
(9 supporting pet./neither, 18 respondent)

Linked docket
16A556

Order
Order list, October 10, 2017

Argument & decision

Argued January 10, 2018 — Eric E. Murphy · Paul M. Smith. Listen and read along · the Court’s audio

Decided June 11, 2018. Opinion by Alito.

Proceedings

  1. Jul 13 2018
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Jun 11 2018
    Judgment REVERSED. Alito, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Kennedy, Thomas, and Gorsuch, JJ., joined. Thomas, J., filed a concurring opinion. Breyer, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan, JJ., joined. Sotomayor, J., filed a dissenting opinion.
  3. Jan 10 2018
    Argued. For petitioner: Eric E. Murphy, State Solicitor for State of Ohio, Columbus, Ohio; and Noel J. Francisco, Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C. (for United States, as amicus curiae.) For respondents: Paul M. Smith, Washington, D. C.
  4. Dec 18 2017
    Record received from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit is electronic.
  5. Nov 22 2017
    CIRCULATED.
  6. Nov 17 2017
    SET FOR ARGUMENT ON Wednesday, January 10, 2018
  7. Oct 27 2017
    Letter from counsel for respondents relating to oral argument filed.
  8. Oct 27 2017
    This case is removed from the oral argument calendar for November 8, 2017.
  9. Oct 16 2017
    Reply of petitioner Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State filed. (Distributed)
  10. Oct 10 2017
    Motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument GRANTED.
  11. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed. (Distributed)
  12. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of American History Professors filed. (Distributed)
  13. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Libertarian National Committee filed. (Distributed)
  14. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of the League of Women Voters of the United States, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  15. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  16. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Senator Sherrod Brown filed. (Distributed)
  17. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Certain Members of the Congressional Black Caucus filed. (Distributed)
  18. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of National Disability Rights Network, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  19. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Common Cause filed. (Distributed)
  20. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Eric H. Holder, Jr., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  21. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of the States of New York, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  22. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  23. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Public Citizen, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
  24. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Current and Former Ohio Elections Officials filed. (Distributed)
  25. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of VoteVets Action Fund filed. (Distributed)
  26. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  27. Sep 22 2017
    Brief amici curiae of NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., et al. filed. (Distributed)
  28. Sep 19 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Libertarian Party of Ohio, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  29. Sep 15 2017
    Brief of respondents A. Philip Randolph Institute, et al. filed. (Distributed)
  30. Sep 12 2017
    Record requested from the U.S.C.A. 6th Circuit.
  31. Sep 07 2017
    CIRCULATED
  32. Aug 31 2017
    SET FOR ARGUMENT on Wednesday November 8, 2017
  33. Aug 25 2017
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by the parties GRANTED.
  34. Aug 22 2017
    Motion of the Acting Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument filed.
  35. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of United States filed.
  36. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Buckeye Institute filed.
  37. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund filed.
  38. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Georgia and 16 Other States filed.
  39. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Judicial Watch, Inc. filed.
  40. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of American Civil Rights Union filed.
  41. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Former Attorneys of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice filed.
  42. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation, et al. filed.
  43. Aug 07 2017
    Brief amici curiae of National Conference of State Legislatures, et al. filed.
  44. Jul 31 2017
    Brief of petitioner Husted, Ohio Secretary of State filed.
  45. Jun 29 2017
    Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by the parties.
  46. Jun 22 2017
    The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including July 31, 2017.
  47. Jun 22 2017
    The time to file respondents' brief on the merits is extended to and including September 15, 2017.
  48. Jun 07 2017
    Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the Petitioner.
  49. Jun 07 2017
    Consent to the filing of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party, received from counsel for the Respondents.
  50. May 30 2017
    Petition GRANTED.
  51. May 22 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 25, 2017.
  52. May 15 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 18, 2017.
  53. May 10 2017
    Rescheduled.
  54. Apr 19 2017
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of May 11, 2017.
  55. Apr 17 2017
    Reply of petitioner Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State filed.
  56. Mar 31 2017
    Brief of respondents A. Philip Randolph Institute, et al. in opposition filed.
  57. Mar 10 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation filed.
  58. Mar 10 2017
    Brief amicus curiae of Judicial Watch, Inc. filed.
  59. Mar 10 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Georgia and 14 other States filed.
  60. Mar 09 2017
    Brief amici curiae of Former Attorneys of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice filed.
  61. Feb 27 2017
    Order extending time to file response to petition to and including March 31, 2017.
  62. Feb 03 2017
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 10, 2017)
  63. Feb 03 2017
    Appendix of Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State filed.
  64. Dec 06 2016
    Application (16A556) granted by Justice Kagan extending the time to file until February 6, 2017.
  65. Dec 02 2016
    Application (16A556) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 22, 2016 to February 6, 2017, submitted to Justice Kagan.