SEATTLE (October 27, 2022)—Perkins Coie filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday on behalf of a bipartisan group of long-time election administrators in a closely watched case, Moore v. Harper.  

In reviewing the case, the Supreme Court is assessing whether the Constitution vests exclusive authority to set the rules for federal elections in state legislatures, subject to Congress’s power to “make or alter such Regulations.” The issue in this case has arisen against the backdrop of congressional redistricting and the Court’s ruling could impact a range of state rules governing the “Times, Places and Manner” of conducting federal elections with important ramifications for how such elections are managed. 

The outcome of the case could also significantly affect concurrent federal-state elections and could result in states having to conduct federal and state elections separately under different sets of rules. 

The Perkins Coie team representing the amici include partners Chuck Curtis, Karl Sandstrom, and Kevin Hamilton. 

The brief brings to the Court’s attention the chaos that would be created if election administrators were required to conduct federal and state elections under different rules, which is one possible outcome of this case. Amici highlighted through examples the need to have uniform rules governing federal and state elections in order to properly administer an election, to avoid voter confusion and endless litigation. Amici stressed that leaving each state to administer its own elections respects federalism and has proven to serve the public well.   

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in Moore v. Harper on December 7, 2022. 

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