Dem Lawyer Taps Mayor ‘Corona’ As Lead Plaintiff In New COVID-19 Election Lawsuit

Nevada state Senator Barbara Cegavske smiles before a debate against Nevada state treasurer Kate Marshall Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, in Las Vegas. The two are running against each other for Nevada Secretary of State. (AP ... Nevada state Senator Barbara Cegavske smiles before a debate against Nevada state treasurer Kate Marshall Friday, Oct. 3, 2014, in Las Vegas. The two are running against each other for Nevada Secretary of State. (AP Photo/John Locher) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Democratic super-lawyer Marc Elias took his voting rights litigation rampage to the next level with a pandemic-related case he filed Thursday evening with the title “Corona v. Cegavske.”

The lead plaintiff is Daniel Corona, the mayor of a small town in Nevada, where Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske has sought to shut down several polling places for the state’s June 9 primary.

The lawsuit alleges that the reduction, under Cegavske’s policy, of in-person polling places to just one-per-county will “leave too many Nevadans without a meaningful ability to cast a ballot.”

Cegavske is reducing the number of polling places as she makes the primary a mail-in election given the pandemic. The lawsuit called the state’s efforts to expand access to mail-in voting”laudable,” but said it doesn’t eliminate the need for “adequate” in-person voting.

The lawsuit also challenges several aspects of the new mail-in voting policies, including election officials’ plans to send ballots only to registered voters listed as “active”on Nevada’s rolls. Additionally, the lawsuit asks the court to strike down Nevada’s ban ballots being collected and submitted by people other than voters’ family members.

Even before the pandemic scrambled election plans, Elias — a longtime Democratic voting rights lawyer — had brought a cascade of lawsuits across several states taking aim at restricting GOP laws ahead of the 2020 election.

He is known for his aggressive tactics, and isn’t shy on social media about his eagerness to get into the courtroom to duke it out with Republicans over suppressive voting policies.

On Thursday night he retweeted a post noting the “Amazing” case caption.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. AND this map is before Covid-19…

    Meanwhile, this Mini-Me Trump RethugniCON needs to be voted out of office…calling on you Floridians!

  2. We all need to make certain we aren’t one of the victims. To confirm your voter’s registration, contact your local Board of Elections or visit www.vote411.org for more information.

  3. Marc is one of the good guys. Not only has he served as top lawyer in a couple of Democratic presidential campaigns – alas not including Al Gore’s – he fights hard for justice in re-districting and re-count battles around the country.

    Key in this new lawsuit:

    The lawsuit called [1] the state’s efforts to expand access to mail-in voting "laudable,” but said it doesn’t eliminate the need for “adequate” in-person voting.

    The lawsuit also [2] challenges several aspects of the new mail-in voting policies, including election officials’ plans to send ballots only to registered voters listed as “active” on Nevada’s rolls. Additionally, the lawsuit asks the court to [3] strike down Nevada’s ban [on] ballots being collected and submitted by people other than voters’ family members.

  4. I like our chances better when Marc Elias is involved. He’s had very few losses. His most disappointing loss was trying to overcome the 10,000 vote deficit in the Rick Scott- Bill Nelson recount. He was Al Franken’s lawyer in the 2008 recount.

  5. You will need to do it more than once to make sure that you remain on the voter rolls. They like to purge when you are distracted and right before elections.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

52 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for jc Avatar for jootjoint Avatar for mymy Avatar for epicurus Avatar for cervantes Avatar for irasdad Avatar for sniffit Avatar for bonvivant Avatar for lastroth Avatar for jkrogman Avatar for greylady Avatar for fiftygigs Avatar for darrtown Avatar for ljb860 Avatar for us_resident Avatar for jacksonhts Avatar for burningquestions Avatar for canyoncountry Avatar for asturcot Avatar for maximus Avatar for joce_m Avatar for iamsmall Avatar for mnnmnnm

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: