In United States law, the Purcell principle is the doctrine that courts should not change election rules too close to an election, because of the risk of causing confusion. It is named after Purcell v. Gonzalez, a 2006 case from the U.S. Supreme Court's emergency docket, or shadow docket. It is frequently invoked by the Supreme Court and lower courts to allow elections to proceed under a state's preferred voting requirements, maps, and other rules.[1][2]
The term "Purcell principle" was introduced in a 2016 law review article by Richard L. Hasen.[3][4] It has also appeared in opinions by the justices themselves.[5]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
economist-2022was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
scotusblog-explainerwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hasen, Richard L. (2016). "Reining in the Purcell Principle". Florida State University Law Review. 43: 427.
- ^ Gerstein, Josh (October 5, 2020). "The murky legal concept that could swing the election". Politico.
- ^ See e.g. Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, 589 U.S. ___, 140 S.Ct. 1205 (2020) (per curiam)
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