Blog of Rights
Nancy
Abudu
Nancy Abudu is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Voting Rights Project in Atlanta. She litigates cases in federal and state courts and provides legal advice to ACLU affiliates and cooperating attorneys working with the ACLU pro bono. Abudu was previously a staff attorney with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and was an associate at Skadden, Arps in New York. She has also represented victims of domestic violence on behalf of the Legal Aid Society of New York and has testified at the United Nations on human rights issues.
03/15/2013
Voter Suppression

The Supreme Court Hears More About the Right to Vote

By Nancy Abudu, Senior Staff Attorney, Voting Rights Project, ACLU at 1:30pm

On Monday the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Arizona, et al. v. ITCA, Inc., et al., the second of two important voting rights cases that the Court will hear in less than a month involving Congress' authority to enact laws to increase access to voting. This case, in which the ACLU and other public interest organizations are representing a number of plaintiffs, addresses different legal questions than Shelby County v. Holder, which was heard by the Supreme Court a few weeks ago.

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06/09/2011
War on Drugs

The Right to Vote: Another Victim of the War on Drugs

By Nancy Abudu, Senior Staff Attorney, Voting Rights Project, ACLU at 4:18pm

June 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of President Richard Nixon's declaration of a "war on drugs" — a war that has cost roughly a trillion dollars, has produced little to no effect on the supply of or demand for drugs in the United States, and has contributed to making America the world's largest incarcerator. Throughout the month, check back daily for posts about the drug war, its victims and what needs to be done to restore fairness and create effective policy.

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10/06/2010

Racial Bias Is Inherent in State Felony Disfranchisement Laws

By Nancy Abudu, Senior Staff Attorney, Voting Rights Project, ACLU at 4:59pm

Racial disparities in the criminal justice system have an undeniable impact on our political landscape. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considered the nature of that impact when it recently heard arguments in Farrakhan v. Gregoire, which challenges the legality of Washington State’s felony disfranchisement law.

In Washington State, people with felony convictions are barred from voting until they are released from state supervision. Because of significant racial discrimination in Washington’s criminal justice system, a disproportionate number of black, Latino and Native American Washingtonians are denied the right to vote.

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01/08/2010

Restoring the Right to Vote in Washington

By Nancy Abudu, Senior Staff Attorney, Voting Rights Project, ACLU at 4:03pm

This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that the state of Washington's law barring individuals with felony convictions from voting is a clear violation of the Voting Rights Act because the law has a racially discriminatory effect on minorities and results in the denial of their right to vote purely on the basis of their race or color. The ruling in Farrakhan v. Gregoire is a long overdue victory for what has been an uphill battle in getting the courts to recognize that there is an irrefutable connection between racial bias in the criminal justice system and the impact felon disfranchisement laws have on minority communities.

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