Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee

Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee
Arizona Republican Party v. Democratic National Committee
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 2, 2021
Decided July 1, 2021
Full case nameMark Brnovich, Attorney General of Arizona, et al. v. Democratic National Committee, et al.
Arizona Republican Party, et al. v. Democratic National Committee, et al.
Docket nos.19-1257
19-1258
Citations594 U.S. ___ (more)
141 S.Ct. 2321
Case history
Prior
  • No. 2:16-cv-01065-DLR, motion denied (208 F. Supp. 3d 1074, D. Ariz., 2016)
  • No. 16-16698, motion denied, (840 F.3d 1057, 9th Cir., 2016)
  • No. 16-16698, motion granted (843 F.3d 366, 9th Cir. en banc, 2016)
  • No. 16A460, motion stayed (137 S. Ct. 446, 2016)
  • No. CV-16-01065-PHX-DLR, judgement granted (329 F.Supp. 3d 824, D. Ariz, 2018)
  • No. 18-15845, affirmed (904 F.3d 686, 9th Cir., 2018)
  • No. 18-15845, vacated and reversed (948 F.3d 989, 9th Cir. en banc, 2020)
Holding
Neither Arizona's out-of-precinct policy nor HB 2023 violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and HB 2023 was not enacted with a racially discriminatory purpose in mind.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Brett Kavanaugh · Amy Coney Barrett
Case opinions
MajorityAlito, joined by Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett
ConcurrenceGorsuch, joined by Thomas
DissentKagan, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XV; Voting Rights Act of 1965

Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, 594 U.S. ___ (2021), was a United States Supreme Court case related to voting rights established by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), and specifically the applicability of Section 2's general provision barring discrimination against minorities in state and local election laws in the wake of the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder, which removed the preclearance requirements for election laws for certain states that had been set by Sections 4(b) and 5. Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee involves two of Arizona's election policies: one outlawing ballot collection and another banning out-of-precinct voting. The Supreme Court ruled in a 6–3 decision in July 2021 that neither of Arizona's election policies violated the VRA or had a racially discriminatory purpose.