Montana Democratic Party v. Jacobsen
Held that laws eliminating election day registration, limiting the forms of acceptable identification for voting, and placing additional burdens on young voters violated the state constitution. Held that when a law minimally burdens the right to vote, but does not impermissibly interfere with it, a “middle-tier” of scrutiny is appropriate.
Related Commentary
Voting Rights and Democracy in State Courts
Transcript of panel from Symposium: The Power of State Constitutional Rights
Bush v. Gore Introduced a Fringe Theory that Threatened Elections Decades Later
The “independent state legislature theory,” shut down in 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court, would have robbed state courts of the power to review state laws related to federal elections.
Case Trends: State Courts Shape the Right to Vote
State high courts continue to settle disputes over voting and election processes, including obstacles to by-mail voting — and to define the right to vote under their own constitutions.
New Jersey’s Constitution Allowed Women to Vote in the 1700s
Though the right was short-lived, it’s an example of how states can expand — and contract — voting rights.