A federal judge has just upheld Virginia’s voter ID law. This decision serves as yet another devastating judicial haymaker for opponents of common sense voter ID laws across the country.

Today, Donald Trump released a list of 11 excellent, principled state and federal court judges he would consider nominating to the Supreme Court if he is elected President.  We will collect reactions to the list from RNLA leaders, members, and friends in this post, which will be updated.

Yesterday, Joanne W. Young published a piece at the Daily Caller that further illustrates the dangers associated with mandatory voter registration. Oregon, a bastion for most things liberal, attempted to force mandatory registration through the DMV. This drew more than a few warnings from Young earlier this year. It turns out the initial concerns were well founded as new voters are likely being disenfranchised as a result of the system.

The Missouri legislature has passed a bill to put a constitutional amendment, allowing a photo voter ID law, on the ballot this November. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article overviewing the paths now available to the bill's potential enactment.  Missouri has struggled to enact the law, facing steep opposition by the left and a 2006 court ruling making the first iteration unconstitutional. The legislation has been a hotly debated topic throughout the session and could face a Governor’s veto and a subsequent override from the legislature. 

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley did an excellent job earlier this week debunking the myths regarding the Garland Supreme Court nomination.  A few highlights of the piece entitled Debunking Supreme Court Myths:

As we discussed previously, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina upheld North Carolina's voter ID law in a long opinion that thoroughly considered all of the evidence.  The decision also upheld a number of procedural election changes that North Carolina made to ensure the integrity of its elections.

With Donald Trump becoming the presumptive Republican nominee for President last week, some conservatives urged the Senate to confirm President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, because they had already given up hope of a Republican victory in the fall.  (Note polls today show that Trump is in a dead heat in key states.)  Putting aside any debate over the outcome of the November election for the moment, this advice to Senate Republicans is not sound.  

A Friday afternoon a few weeks back, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe made an unprecedented and likely unconstitutional “executive order” allowing felons to vote.  As National Review wrote:

The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) is pleased to name Charles “Chuck” Copper as the recipient of the 2016 Ed Meese Award.  Cooper was selected for the Ed Meese Award, named after the 65th United States Attorney General, as he has upheld the rule of law in the face of adverse political challenges. 

The Left’s war on free speech is not just with Citizens United; it has spread to debate on the issues.  The left is actually trying to chill debate, even criminalize it.