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Scott Schwab, Secretary of State of Kansas v. Steven Wayne Fish, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, No. 18-3133, 18-3134 · judgment April 29, 2020

Certiorari denied · December 14, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 11% cert probability (95% interval 6%–19%)

Before the decision, about 2.7× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a state or local-government petitioner, a circuit split argued in the petition, and a dissent in the court below (flagged in the petition).

Question presented

The Kansas Constitution establishes United States citizenship as a qualification to vote and directs the Legislature to provide for proof of eligibility. Thus, when an applicant in Kansas registers to vote, Kansas law requires “satisfactory evidence of United States citizenship.” Kan. Stat. Ann. § 25-2309(l). The questions presented are:

  1. Whether the United States Constitution prohibits Kansas from requiring applicants to provide proof of United States citizenship when registering to vote.

  2. Whether Section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 52 U.S.C. § 20501, et seq., prohibits Kansas from requiring motor-voter applicants to provide proof of United States citizenship when registering to vote.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Brant M. Laue
Solicitor General of Kansas

For respondent
Dale E. Ho
American Civil Liberties Union

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Amicus briefs
3 cert-stage

Proceedings

  1. Dec 14 2020
    Petition DENIED. Justice Gorsuch took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
  2. Dec 07 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/11/2020.
  3. Nov 17 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/4/2020.
  4. Nov 16 2020
    Reply of petitioner Schwab, Scott filed. (Distributed)
  5. Nov 02 2020
    Brief of respondents Steven Fish, et al. in opposition filed.
  6. Sep 02 2020
    Brief amici curiae of States of Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia filed.
  7. Sep 02 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund filed.
  8. Sep 02 2020
    Brief amicus curiae of Honest Elections Project filed.
  9. Aug 13 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 2, 2020.
  10. Aug 12 2020
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from September 2, 2020 to November 2, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
  11. Jul 28 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due September 2, 2020)