Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Post-election lawsuits, 2020

This article covers subjects specific to the 2020 general election. It has not been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
Click here for more information about our 2020 election coverage.

← Pre-election lawsuits

Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk

Use the buttons below to see Help Desk hubs for other years. 2022 »

Disputed results Presidential election lawsuits and recounts Post-election lawsuits

Frequently asked questions General questions Presidential election Processing/counting mail ballots Results and certification Disputing results • Officeholder transitions

Absentee/mail-in voting analysis Mail-in voting by state, 2016-2018 Mail-in rejection by state, 2016-2018 Uncalled races, 2018 When can states begin counting? Processing, counting, and challenging ballots

Voting in 2020 Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Voter ID Poll opening and closing times Recount laws by state Recount margin requirements by state U.S. Supreme Court actions

Elections by state AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

Government officials, voters, candidates, campaigns, and satellite groups all can, subject to state-specific laws and regulations, file election-related lawsuits. This article details post-election lawsuits.

For information about lawsuits and recounts involving the 2020 presidential election, click here.

Post-election lawsuits

The following is a list of post-election lawsuits, including both suits involving the presidential election and those dealing with other contests. Where available, case names and numbers, states of origin, courts of origin, and links to complaints and docket reports are provided.

Noteworthy lawsuits

Mississippi

Devaull v. Holliday

• Case name: Devaull v. Holliday
• Related election/s: Monroe County Circuit Court
• Court: Aberdeen Ward 1 Alderman primary runoff (June 16, 2020)
• Issue: Whether irregularities occurred that should, under Mississippi law, trigger a new election.
• Outcome: Judge Jeff Weill ruled that significant irregularities had occurred and ordered a new election.
• Decision date: February 26, 2021
• Order/opinion link: N/A

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On February 26, 2021, Hinds County Judge Jeff Weill ordered that a new primary runoff election be held for the Ward 1 seat on the Aberdeen City Council, finding that significant irregularities had occurred in the original June 16, 2020, runoff.

  In the original runoff, the local Democratic Executive Committee declared Nicholas Holliday the winner over Robert Devaull by 37 votes, 177-140. Devaull filed suit, alleging that irregularities had occurred that should, under state law, trigger a new election. The Mississippi Supreme Court assigned Weill to the case. In his February 26, 2021, order, Weill found that 50 of 66 absentee/mail-in ballots were either wrongly accepted (35 ballots) or wrongly rejected (15 ballots). He also found that 16 of 19 challenged ballots should have been rejected.

  Weill ruled that there was "significant evidence of fraud" on the part of two individuals who notarized absentee/mail-in ballot paperwork (Dallas Jones and Ela Hoskins C. Stephens) and the "unnamed co-conspirators with whom their coordinated their efforts." In light of these findings, Weill ordered a new election to take place, although a date was not specified in the ruling.

Nevada

Miller v. Clark County Board of Commissioners

• Case name: Miller v. Clark County Board of Commissioners
• Related election/s: Clark County Commission, District C
• Court: Clark County District Court
• Issue: Whether the county commission exceeded its legal authority when it declined to certify the general election results for District C, instead calling for a special election.
• Outcome: Pending
• Decision date: Pending
• Order/opinion link: Pending

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On November 17, 2020, Ross Miller (D) sued the Clark County Commission over its decision to conduct a special election for the commission's District C seat after preliminary general election returns showed Miller leading Stavros S. Anthony (R) by 10 votes out of 153,162 total votes cast.

  On November 16, 2020, the commission declined to certify the results for the District C seat after Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria reported 139 ballot discrepancies in the district. Instead, the commission opted to conduct a special election for the seat, asking Gloria to present a plan for the special election at the commission's first December meeting. A ballot discrepancy occurs when the number of voter check-ins at a polling site does not match the number of votes recorded as having been cast at that site. Ballot discrepancies most often result from clerical errors. Discrepancies can also occur when a voter attempts to vote in person after having already cast an absentee/mail-in ballot.

  Miller's attorneys alleged that the commission had taken "the unprecedented and unlawful step of wiping clean all votes from the record in their entirety," breaking from the "legislatively mandated process to go forward, which permits the unsuccessful election opponent to seek a recount and/or judicially challenge the outcome." Miller asked the Clark County District Court to order the commission to cancel the special election and certify the results of the general election.

  In response, Dan Kulin, a spokesman for the county said, "We disagree with [Miller's] analysis but look forward to a prompt resolution so that both candidates can move forward."

Pennsylvania

Hamm v. Boockvar

• Case name: Hamm v. Boockvar
• Related election/s: Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 84; Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District
• Court: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court
• Issue: Whether voters could cast provision ballots to correct defects on their mail-in ballots.
• Outcome: Officials ordered to segregate provisional ballots cast by voters who had already submitted absentee/mail-in ballots and determine whether the provisional ballots were valid.
• Decision date: November 6, 2020
• Order/opinion link: N/A

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On November 3, 2020, Joe Hamm and Mike Kelly, Republican candidates for Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 84 and Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District, respectively, sued Secretary of the Commonwealth Kathy Boockvar (D) in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Hamm and Kelly alleged that Boockvar's guidance directing county election officials to allow voters an opportunity to correct defects on their mail-in ballots by casting provisional ballots violated state law. They asked the court for an order that would prohibit election officials "from permitting invalidly submitted absentee and mail-in ballots to be 'cured' by the submission of provisions [sic] ballots." A hearing on the matter was scheduled for November 4, 2020.

  On November 6, 2020, Judge Kevin Brobson ordered officials to segregate provisional ballots cast by voters who had already submitted absentee/mail-in ballots and determine whether the provisional ballots were valid.

Ziccarelli v. Allegheny County Board of Elections

• Case name: Ziccarelli v. Allegheny County Board of Elections
• Related election/s: Pennsylvania State Senate District 45
• Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (on appeal from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court; originated in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, appealed first to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court and then to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court)
• Issue: Whether 2,349 mail-in ballots whose outer envelopes did not have voter-written dates were valid.
• Outcome: In a 4-3 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the validity of the challenged ballots, reversing the Commonwealth Court order's to the contrary. U.S. District Court Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan dismissed Ziccarelli's challenge to the state supreme court decision, allowing that decision to stand.
• Decision date: January 12, 2021 (Pennsylvania Supreme Court: November 23, 2020)
• Order/opinion link: Opinion (Pennsylvania Supreme Court: Opinion)

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On November 19, 2020, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, in a 2-1 decision, ordered Allegheny County election officials to exclude from the final tally 2,349 mail-in ballots whose outer envelopes did not have voter-written dates. The commonwealth court overturned a Court of Common Pleas ruling that had upheld the validity of the challenged ballots. Judges Kevin Brobson and Patricia McCullough formed the majority. Judge Michael Wojcik dissented.

  On November 23, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed the Commonwealth Court's decision. Justice Christine Donohue (D) wrote the court's opinion, which Justices Max Baer (D) and Debra Todd (D) joined. Donohue said, "We conclude that the [Pennsylvania] Election Code does not require boards of elections to disqualify mail-in or absentee ballots submitted by qualified electors who signed the declaration on their ballot's outer envelope but did not handwrite their name, their address, and/or date, where no fraud or irregularity has been alleged."

  Justice David N. Wecht (D) concurred in the result of the court's decision, filing a separate opinion. Justice Kevin M. Dougherty (D) filed an opinion that concurred in part and dissented in part, which Chief Justice Thomas Saylor (R) and Justice Sallie Mundy (R) joined. In his opinion, Dougherty said: "[The] meaning of the terms 'date' and 'sign' – which were included by the legislature – are self-evident, they are not subject to interpretation, and the statutory language expressly requires that the elector provide them. … Accordingly, I do not view the absence of a date as a mere technical insufficiency we may overlook."

  On November 25, 2020, Nicole Ziccarelli, the Republican state Senate candidate who first brought the challenge, took the case to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. She alleged that the challenged ballots from Allegheny County would be treated differently than ballots with similar issues cast in other counties, thereby diluting the force of these latter votes in violation of the U.S. Constitution's due-process and equal-protection provisions. She asked the court for an order barring state officials from certifying the results of the election. On January 12, 2021, Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan dismissed Ziccarelli's complaint.

More frequently asked questions about the 2020 election

Click on a question below to read the answer:

• General election information
  • Who runs elections in the United States?
  • Why do states have different election rules?
  • What methods do states use to prevent election fraud?
  • Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot?
  • What happens if you mark outside the lines or use the wrong pen/pencil?
  • What is a spoiled ballot?
  • What is a write-in candidate?
  • How can I check the status of my ballot?
  • Can I take a ballot selfie?

• Presidential election
  • What happens if a presidential candidate declares victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can presidential candidates win the election if they have already conceded?
  • What are the steps and deadlines for electing the President of the United States?
  • What happens if there is a tie in the Electoral College?
  • What are faithless electors in the Electoral College?
  • What happens if a presidential nominee becomes incapacitated before the election?
  • Can members of Congress object to Electoral College results?

• Processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots
  • What is the life cycle of an absentee/mail-in ballot?
  • What happens if I vote by mail and want to change my ballot at a later date?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail and then tries to vote in person?
  • How do states protect and verify absentee/mail-in ballots?
  • How do election workers match signatures?
  • Are results reported on election night coming from in-person or absentee/mail-in votes?
  • Do states report how many mail-in/absentee ballots are outstanding on election night?
  • Do absentee/mail-in ballots take longer to count than in-person ballots?
  • What happens if someone votes by mail-in ballot or absentee ballot and subsequently passes away before Election Day?

• Disputing election results
  • How will election recounts work?
  • How close does an election have to be to trigger an automatic recount?
  • Can a candidate or voter request a recount?
  • Who pays for recounts and contested elections?
  • What are poll watchers?
  • What does it mean to challenge a voter's eligibility, and who can do it?
  • What is a redo election?
  • Who can file election-related lawsuits?
  • What are the reasons to call a redo election?
  • Who can call a redo election?
  • Can a redo be held for a presidential election?

• Election result reporting and certification
  • What happens if candidates declare victory in the 2020 election before results are final?
  • Can candidates win an election if they have already conceded?
  • How and when are election results finalized?
  • How do major media outlets declare winners?

• Transitions of power and taking office
  • Who is the president if election results are unknown by January 20, 2021?
  • Who serves in Congress if election results are unknown by January 2021?
  • Who serves in a state or local government if election results are unknown?
  • What happens if the winning presidential candidate becomes incapacitated before taking office?

• Articles about potential scenarios in the 2020 election
• U.S. Supreme Court actions affecting the November 3, 2020, general election

The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions.

See also

• Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Pre-election lawsuits, 2020
• Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
• Lawsuits about state actions and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021