Supreme Court declines to hear defeated Maryland gubernatorial candidate’s election lawsuit

The Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday declined to take up former Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox’s (R) problem to the timing of officers’ tabulation of mail-in ballots in his election.

Cox, who misplaced to Gov. Wes Moore (D), sought to reverse decrease court docket rulings that allowed election officers to rely mail-in ballots weeks earlier than Election Day.

His problem referenced a sweeping authorized concept superior by Republican state lawmakers in a separate election case presently earlier than the justices that would hand state legislatures broad new powers over how federal elections are carried out.

That case stays on observe for a ruling by this summer time, however the justices in a short, unsigned order on Tuesday declined to listen to Cox’s case, as is typical for the 1000’s of requests that the Supreme Courtroom denies annually.

Cox had argued that state courts in his election usurped the authority of the state legislature. 

“The U.S. Structure requires that the principles for holding an election be made solely by the legislative physique of the state holding these elections,” Cox’s lawyer wrote in court docket filings. “It’s indeniable on this case that the Maryland Circuit Courtroom for Montgomery County prescribed the style of holding elections in Maryland, in direct contradiction of the style already set by the Maryland legislature.”

Cox contended the dispute introduced the “very same” authorized points as Moore v. Harper, a high-profile case presently earlier than the justices that entails a problem to North Carolina’s Republican-drawn voting map.

The justices in that case are weighing the “impartial state legislature concept,” an interpretation of the Structure’s Elections Clause that fingers state legislatures close to complete management over how federal elections are carried out of their state and successfully shields them from judicial assessment. 

The Republican lawmakers’ maximalist argument is that decrease courts didn’t have the authority to strike down the legislature’s voting map as a partisan gerrymander, as a result of the Structure vested within the legislature the final word authority to prescribe election rules.

Cox in an identical vein had argued state courts in his election went past their authority by permitting officers to bypass a Maryland legislation prohibiting the canvassing of mail-in ballots till the Wednesday following Election Day. 

After mail-in ballots grew to become extra well-liked in the course of the pandemic, state lawmakers handed laws to permit tabulations to start earlier, however then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed the legislation in Could.

The elections board grew to become nervous that it wouldn’t be capable to end counting earlier than statutory deadlines, so it leveraged a separate legislation permitting them to petition a court docket in “emergency circumstances” to take motion that protects the election’s integrity.

A state court docket declared the approaching inflow of mail-in ballots an emergency and granted the request, permitting mail-in ballots to be counted starting on Oct. 1.

Cox filed his problem earlier than the election however failed in state courts. He requested the justices to step in and weigh whether or not the court docket had the authority to subject its order, asserting that his case was not moot regardless of the election being over.

“Given the chance that mail-in ballots will proceed to be well-liked, the [elections board] is prone to want and search this reduction each election cycle,” Cox argued.