It’s been a busy month of court watching in Kansas as cases dealing with same-sex marriage have rushed their way to both the U.S. and Kansas Supreme courts. But while waiting for final decisions on those cases, it’s worth noting that three other cases of monumental importance to Kansans are still pending before a single judge in Shawnee County.

Not only does Judge Frank Theis have another case dealing with same-sex marriage — one that could decide whether Kansas has to recognize marriages legally performed in other states — but he also has a case that could decide the future of the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration and, lest we forget, the major unresolved portion of a school finance lawsuit that could dominate the upcoming legislative session.

Here is a quick rundown of those cases:

• Gay marriage: Nelson et al. v. Kansas Department of Revenue. This case was filed by Lawrence attorney David Brown on behalf of two gay couples, one from Lawrence and another from Alma, who were legally married in California. It challenges the state’s policy of requiring them to file separate state income tax returns despite the fact that they can file joint federal returns.

The case is different from the other higher-profile cases in that it challenges the state’s refusal to recognize legally performed same-sex marriages. The others pending before the state and federal high courts challenge the state’s refusal to grant licenses for couples to be married in Kansas.

The Nelson case had been set for hearing on Friday, but there’s a strong chance Theis will postpone that hearing and wait for the dust to settle from the higher courts, by which time the case may become moot.

• Voting rights: Belenky et al. v. Kobach We wrote about this case Monday, but here’s a recap. We now have a situation in which Kansas holds “dual elections” in which different voters are treated differently, depending on how they registered.

Those who register using a federal form, which does not ask for proof of citizenship, may vote only in federal races, those for president, U.S. House and U.S. Senate. To vote in state and local elections, voters registering for the first time in their county must show documentary proof of citizenship.

In the Nov. 4 elections, more than 20,000 would-be voters were barred from voting because they used the state form but did not provide proof of citizenship. An analysis by the Journal-World showed a disproportionate number of those voters were under age 25 or resided in low-income neighborhoods.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office had sued in federal court, trying to get the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to provide Kansas with a federal form that asks for proof of citizenship. Last week, the 10th Circuit said the EAC doesn’t have to. Kobach says he plans to appeal that ruling. But in the meantime, there’s the question of whether “dual elections” are constitutional.

Equality Kansas, a gay rights and civil rights advocacy group, is challenging the constitutionality of that setup. If they prevail, it could provide a pathway for voters to circumvent the proof-of-citizenship requirement simply by registering to vote using the federal form, basically eviscerating the law passed in 2012 by the Kansas Legislature, at Kobach’s urging.

Judge Theis had put that case on hold pending the decision by the 10th Circuit. But now that the appellate court has ruled, the case could be reset for hearing at any time.

• School Finance: Gannon v. Kansas. Many people might have thought this case was dispensed with earlier this year when the Legislature agreed to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court order to spend more money on “equalization aid” targeting less wealthy districts. But that was only part of the case — and a relatively small part at that.

The bigger part of the case challenges the overall adequacy of state funding for public schools. The Supreme Court remanded that portion back to a three-judge panel (of which Theis is the presiding judge) to decide based on a different standard than had been used in the past.

The panel held a hearing on that issue in August, and court watchers have been waiting ever since for a decision.

In the panel’s original ruling in 2013, it said the state was short-changing public schools to the tune of about $450 million a year.

If the panel comes back and says the state is still below the mark, that could throw the Kansas Legislature into chaos this session. Because remember, state revenue estimators just said Monday that the state is now projected to have a $715 million budget gap over the next 18 months.

There is no deadline for the panel to render its decision, but most people expect one before the start of the 2015 session.