Fetzer v. Barlett (Malcolm J. Howard and David W. Daniel, E.D.N.C. 4:10-cv-158)
A federal complaint filed on Friday, October 29, 2010, challenged the planned use of touchscreen voting machines that the complaint alleged would default to votes for the other party. The district judge assigned to the case was at an airport returning from a week out of town, and he referred the case to a magistrate judge for a status conference on the day that the complaint was filed. On Saturday, the district judge heard the case and issued a temporary restraining order requiring warning notices at polling places instructing voters to review carefully the machines’ registration of the voters’ choices.
Subject: Voting procedures. Topics: Voting technology; election errors; case assignment.

One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.