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Case docket

Pennsylvania Voters Alliance v. Centre County — M.D. Pa., No. 4:20-cv-01761

Pennsylvania Voters Alliance v. Centre County — 21 court filings in the archive from U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, filed between September 25, 2020 and November 23, 2020. Among them: 7 exhibits, 2 complaints and 2 orders.

Case facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania
Filings21 public filings
Filed2020-09-25 – 2020-11-23
Document typesexhibits (7), complaints (2), orders (2), declaration (1), memorandum or brief (1), motion (1)
Original PDFs1 of 21

Case summary

The Pennsylvania Voters Alliance and fourteen individual registered voters sued Centre County, Delaware County and the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, No. 4:20-cv-01761-MWB, to enjoin them from receiving election grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, and later added the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a defendant. The complaint argued that the grants violate the Elections Clause and the Equal Protection Clause and are preempted by the Constitution, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. On October 21, 2020 the court dismissed the amended complaint without prejudice for lack of Article III standing, holding the alleged injuries were generalized grievances lacking particularity and imminence. The Third Circuit summarily dismissed the appeal on November 23, 2020.

Case at a glance

PartiesPlaintiffs: Pennsylvania Voters Alliance and fourteen individual registered voters resident in Centre County, Delaware County and the City of Philadelphia. Defendants: Centre County, Delaware County, the City of Philadelphia and Kathy Boockvar, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, added by the amended complaint
Court and docketU.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, No. 4:20-cv-01761-MWB (Judge Matthew W. Brann); Third Circuit C.A. No. 20-3175
ProgramThe grants challenged are private Center for Tech and Civic Life grants. The opinion records that all three county defendants also received election grants under the Help America Vote Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act, both distributed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth
ClaimsThat acceptance of the CTCL grants violates the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Pennsylvania Election Code, and that the grants are preempted by the Elections Clause, the Supremacy Clause, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act
Disposition or statusAmended complaint dismissed without prejudice and the case closed October 21, 2020 for lack of Article III standing; the two motions for a temporary restraining order dismissed the same day; appeal summarily dismissed by the Third Circuit on November 23, 2020 for lack of standing
Status checked2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read

What did the court decide?

That it could not reach the merits because the plaintiffs lacked standing. The opinion states that all three of the alleged injuries are generalized grievances, insufficiently particularized, and that they also lack imminence, and dismisses the action on that basis without prejudice.

What grants were at issue?

Grants from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a non-party the opinion describes as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 2012 that had designated $250,000,000 for election offices across the country. The opinion records that Philadelphia received $10,012,000, Delaware County $2,200,000 and Centre County $863,838, and lists permitted uses including maintaining in-person polling on election day, obtaining personal protective equipment, processing mail-in and absentee ballots, satellite election offices and secure drop-boxes.

What happened on appeal?

The Third Circuit, on the clerk's submission for summary action under its Local Appellate Rule 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6, dismissed the appeal summarily on November 23, 2020 "for lack of standing, as there is no injury-in-fact."

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.

Filings

21 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.

  1. Complaint — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Complaint
  2. Exhibit A — CTCL COVID-19 Grant Webpage — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Exhibit
  3. Exhibit B — 'Charities Are Stepping Up' article — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Exhibit
  4. Declaration of Erick G. Kaardal — Pa. Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Declaration · PDF
  5. Exhibit C — CTCL Grant Award Letter to Philadelphia — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Exhibit
  6. Exhibit D — Pennsylvania CARES Act HAVA Certification Letter —…Exhibit
  7. Exhibit H — Pennsylvania HAVA/CARES County Grant Distribution — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Exhibit
  8. Exhibit J — Pennsylvania State Email on Business Donations to…Exhibit
  9. Memorandum in Support of Motion for TRO — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Memorandum or brief
  10. Order Scheduling Status Conference — Pa. Voters Alliance v…Order
  11. Defendants' Response in Opposition to Motion for TRO — PA…
  12. Exhibit A — CRS Report on State and Local Election Administration — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Exhibit
  13. First Amended Complaint — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre CountyComplaint
  14. Supplemental Memorandum in Support of TRO — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)
  15. Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Supplemental TRO Memorandum…
  16. Motion for TRO Against Secretary Boockvar — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)Motion
  17. Plaintiffs' Second Supplemental Memorandum in Support of TRO —…
  18. Defendants' Response to Second Supplemental TRO Memorandum — PA…
  19. Memorandum Opinion — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre CountyOpinion
  20. Order Dismissing Case — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre CountyOrder
  21. Third Circuit Order — Summary Dismissal — PA Voters Alliance v. Centre County (M.D. Pa.)

Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.

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