SCOTUS had no oral arguments. They were somewhat busy with orders and November began with a conference which will bring orders on Monday.
The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a federal law intended to standardize anti-doping and safety regulations in horse racing to remain in place while a challenge to that law plays out.
Amy Howe dealt with the somewhat confusing procedural dynamics. Bottom line, only Justice Jackson (though Prof. Steve Vladeck on Twitter said she was right) openly disagreed.
The move suggests that the justices are interested in taking the case. If so, it can have some significant effect on regulatory choice. There was some bipartisan support for this particular regulation with Mitch McConnell among those saying it has made things safer overall.
Gorsuch dissented from the decision to leave Kennedy on the ballot in Michigan. In a short paragraph, he indicated that he largely agreed with the three conservative judges in the 6th Circuit who would have ordered Benson to remove Kennedy from the ballot.
Robert Kennedy Jr. ended his campaign for president and supported Trump. Kennedy then tried to game the ballot process to keep himself on the ballot in states where it would help Trump and remove his name where it would not.
The Supreme Court turned down two attempts out of Michigan and Wisconsin, two important "blue wall" swing states. Gorsuch alone dissented in one case.
The lower courts partially were dubious about Kennedy's two-faced approach. Why would it be coercive to force him to be on the ballot only in certain states? Also, he waited so long, it would be problematic to do so with voting already starting.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked an order by a federal judge that would have required Virginia to return more than 1,600 people to the voter rolls. U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles found that since early August the state had canceled the registration of more than 1,600 voters – at least some of whom were U.S. citizens eligible to vote – under a program intended to remove suspected noncitizens from the voting rolls.
The justices, with neither faction explaining themselves, split ideologically 6-3. Steve Vladeck explains how this is another troubling exercise of the "shadow docket." Technically, only the three liberals dissented on the record.
OTOH, if a conservative wanted not to be counted as going along, they shouldn't do the mostly (especially here, where the ideologically split vote looks bad) useless act of voting in a way only the justices and their clerks know about.
The lower court decided the other way. The stakes warrant an explanation. Yes, people can still register if they have the right information, though it can be burdensome (one person missed hours of work). People who voted by mail and do not realize there is a problem might be out of luck.
Voting is a fundamental right. A federal law was passed to protect erroneous deprivation near an election when there might not be time to fix false positives. The balance should go to the voter here.
Cornell West
Meanwhile, without referring it to the whole court, Alito disposed of a request by Cornell West to have polling places in Pennsylvania have signs telling voters they can write his name in. Sounds a wee bit desperate. Alito: no flag for you.
West is on the list of people who will be counted if voters in New York write in their names for president.
Friday Night Fun
I thought we were done but they decided to drop another order apparently after 6 P.M. on Friday.
They refused a GOP request to narrow options for Pennsylvanian voters who botch mail ballots and try to vote on Election Day. This time, there is a statement by Alito (the circuit judge; joined by Thomas and Gorsuch), explaining that though the case addresses a serious issue, the specific claim doesn't work.
So, the justices can explain when they wish.
Other News
SCOTUS dropped a media advisory regarding the limited sitting in a trans rights case. The Trump Administration would have a different take.
Ready for 2025? January argument time!
Right now, the Supreme Court is on the ballot.