D uring the final months and weeks leading up to the November 8, 2016, presidential election, courts across the country have ruled in numerous challenges to state election laws. As a result of some of these rulings, several laws have been recently invalidated, enjoined, or altered. For example, in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas there have been recent court rulings affecting the laws regulating early voting, voter photo identification (ID) requirements, registration procedures, straight-party voting, and voter rolls. These decisions are notable because of their impact on state election laws shortly before a presidential election, and in some cases, because they invalidated laws that were recently enacted. Furthermore, the rulings in North Carolina and Texas have drawn attention because the challenged state laws were held, in part, to violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which generally prohibits discriminatory voting laws based on race, color, or membership in a language minority and has typically been applied in the context of challenges to redistricting maps. In order to facilitate determination of the totality of the circumstances, the Court listed the following factors, which originated in the legislative history accompanying enactment of Section 2: 
1. the extent of any history of official discrimination in the state or political subdivision that touched the right of the members of the minority group to register, to vote, or otherwise to participate in the democratic process;
2. the extent to which voting in the elections of the state or political subdivisions is racially polarized;
3. the extent to which the state or political subdivision has used unusually large election districts, majority vote requirements, anti-single shot provisions, or other voting practices or procedures that may enhance the opportunity for discrimination against the minority group;
4. if there is a candidate slating process, whether the members of the minority group have been denied access to that process;
5. the extent to which members of the minority group in the state or political subdivision bear the effects of discrimination in such areas as education, employment and health, which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process;
6. whether political campaigns have been characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals;
7. the extent to which members of the minority group have been elected to public office in the jurisdiction. Recent rulings in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas are illustrative examples. Michigan Straight-Party Voting

Straight-party voting, also known as straight-ticket voting, permits a voter to cast a vote for a political party's entire slate of candidates by making a single notation on the ballot. The court ruled it was likely that the plaintiffs would succeed on the merits under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. The partially divided court held that the laws were enacted with a racially discriminatory intent in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. In contrast to its ruling on voter rolls, on August 23, 2016, the Sixth Circuit upheld a 2014 Ohio law that eliminated a period of early voting and the availability of same-day registration, known as "Golden Week," against a challenge under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause and Section 2 of the VRA. Affirming a lower court, a plurality of the court concluded that the voter photo ID law has a discriminatory effect on minorities' voting rights and therefore violates Section 2 of the VRA. Therefore, the attendant case law is just beginning to develop. Likewise, questions of whether specific voter photo ID laws comply with the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause and the VRA continue to be answered. Although the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an Indiana voter photo ID law in 2008 against a facial challenge, some courts have concluded that other state laws are distinguishable from the Indiana law or have evaluated such laws under Section 2 of the VRA. It is possible that the Supreme Court may ultimately decide to revisit this issue.
During the final months and weeks leading up to the November 8, 2016, presidential election, courts across the country have ruled in numerous challenges to state election laws. For example, there have been recent court rulings affecting the laws regulating early voting, voter photo identification (ID) requirements, registration procedures, straight-party voting, and voter rolls. Accordingly, many such laws have been recently invalidated, enjoined, or altered. Others continue to be subject to litigation.
Recent rulings in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas are illustrative examples. In Michigan, a court preliminarily enjoined a 2016 law that ended the ability of voters to vote for a political party's entire slate of candidates with a single notation—straight-party voting—concluding that it was likely that the challengers would succeed on the merits of their claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In North Carolina, a court invalidated several recent changes to that state's election laws, including a voter photo ID law, holding that the laws were enacted with a racially discriminatory intent in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the VRA. In Ohio, a court held that a law setting forth the process for removing the names of inactive voters from the voter rolls violates the National Voter Registration Act, and in another case, upheld a law that eliminated a period of early voting and same-day registration, known as "Golden Week," against a challenge under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause and Section 2 of the VRA. Finally, in contrast to the North Carolina ruling, a court declined to invalidate a Texas voter photo ID law, but required it to be administered on November 8, 2016, with modifications, holding that the law has a discriminatory effect on minority voting rights in violation of Section 2 of the VRA.
These decisions are notable because of their impact on state election laws shortly before a presidential election and, in some cases, because they invalidated laws that were recently enacted. Furthermore, the rulings in North Carolina and Texas have drawn attention because the challenged state laws were held, in part, to violate Section 2 of the VRA, which in the past has generally been applied in the context of challenges to redistricting maps. Accordingly, the case law in this area is just beginning to develop. Likewise, questions of whether specific voter photo ID laws comply with the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause and the VRA continue to be answered. Although the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an Indiana voter photo ID law in 2008 against a facial challenge, some courts have found other state laws distinguishable or have evaluated such laws under Section 2 of the VRA. It is possible that the Supreme Court may ultimately decide to revisit this issue.