Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill on Tuesday asked a federal court to stay its preliminary injunction against a 2019 state law permitting a county election board, but no one else, to request an order from a state court extending voting hours.
Hill
Such extensions may be necessary in the event of technical problems at polling places but cannot be undertaken without a court order.
A lawsuit by Common Cause Indiana argues that anyone should be able to request such a court order, but Hill noted that permitting all voters to file such lawsuits could inundate courts with demands for extended polling hours. Indiana law otherwise affords voters ample opportunity to cast their ballots even before Election Day, and the statute at issue does not preclude voters from filing claims under federal law in either state or federal court.
“This is but one of many lawsuits designed to throw our election system into chaos on Election Day,” Hill said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has said that courts should not issue election-related injunctions at the eleventh hour, but here we go again, with various left-leaning groups urging federal district courts to re-write the election laws and micromanage election procedures.”
As long as the federal court’s injunction stands, Indiana cannot enforce the law under challenge.