Voter Suppression

Voting rights are under attack in this country. States are making it harder for people to vote as legislatures pass voter suppression laws under the pretext of preventing voter fraud and safeguarding election integrity. These regressive laws take many forms and pose significant barriers for eligible voters trying to exercise their most fundamental constitutional right.

03/20/2013

Voter Suppression

Shelby, ITCA, and Congress' Role in Protecting Voting Rights

By Deborah J. Vagins, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:22pm

Following a wave of voter suppression laws over the last few years, Texas passed a restrictive voter identification law, which unfairly burdened communities of color all across the state. The new law was rejected as discriminatory under the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In Arizona, Herta Weber, a U.S. Army and Navy veteran had her voter registration denied because of new burdensome state requirements for documentary proof of citizenship, despite the fact that she could easily register under the requirements of the federal National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) (the federal "motor voter" law).

02/26/2013

Voting Rights Act

Why The Voting Rights Act Matters

By Laughlin McDonald, Voting Rights Project & Eunice Hyon Min Rho, ACLU at 11:19am

During the signing ceremony of the Voting Rights Act, President Lyndon B. Johnson characterized the law as "one of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom." Since that day, this landmark civil rights law has steadily and surely defeated and deterred countless discriminatory and varied barriers to the ballot.

10/02/2012

Challenges to Voter Suppression Laws

No Pictures Please: Pennsylvania Voter ID Law Put on Hold

By Steve Gosset, ACLU at 7:30pm

In a victory for Pennsylvania voters, a state judge today halted the enforcement of the state’s voter ID law, which threatened to disenfranchise thousands of elderly residents, students, the homeless and communities of color this November.

Judge Robert Simpson Jr. ruled that he was “not convinced” that the requirement to show photo ID at polling stations would not lead to voter disenfranchisement, as the state had argued.

08/13/2012

Voter Suppression

Sorry, We’re Closed: Some Ohio Counties Opt Against Extra Early Voting Hours

By Mike Brickner, ACLU of Ohio at 4:59pm

Ohio elections are once again making national news, but not exactly in the way we’d hoped. County Boards of Elections are deciding whether they will be open extended hours on evenings and weekends for early in-person voting. In 2008, many counties, including Cuyahoga and Franklin (home to Cleveland and Columbus) had large numbers of voters use these extended hours.

PODCAST
3 prominent Ohio pastors talk about why early voting is important to their communities>>

06/04/2012

Voter Suppression

Wisconsin’s Recall Election: State Law Makes Voting An Uphill Battle for Young Voters

By Demelza Baer, Washington Legislative Office at 4:16pm

You remember Wisconsin, right? It’s the place where last year a battle over proposed budget cuts – that would reduce employee benefits and collective bargaining rights – prompted the prolonged protests of thousands of people in the state’s capital, as well as the temporary self-exile of state senators to Illinois to delay a vote on the budget measure. Fiercely-held opinions on both sides of the issues prompted a gubernatorial recall petition drive.

05/20/2013

Voter Suppression

Happy 20th Anniversary to the National Voter Registration Act! May It Have Many More

By Dale Ho, Managing Attorney, ACLU at 11:50am

Twenty years ago today, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), in order to make voter registration free, fair, and accessible for all Americans. The statute has been a resounding success, helping to enfranchise millions of Americans across the country.

The NVRA is often referred to as the "Motor Voter" law, because it requires states to offer voter registration with applications for driver's licenses. But other provisions are equally important. The NVRA requires states to offer voter registration to applicants for public assistance programs such as Medicaid and the new health benefit exchange that is required under the Affordable Care Act. . It also protects the right of citizens and civic associations to conduct volunteer voter registration drives, and removes state-imposed barriers to registration, by creating a one-page standardized voter registration form for use in all states, on which voters affirm their eligibility as citizens by signing a sworn affidavit.

04/05/2013

Universal Human Rights

International Human Rights Body Seeking Answers on U.S. Civil and Political Rights Record

By Allison Frankel, ACLU Human Rights Program at 4:16pm

An international human rights body is set to question the United States on its obligations under a key human rights treaty. The U.N. Human Rights Committee, an independent body of experts tasked with monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), this week released its list of issues, which will serve as the basis for its upcoming review of U.S. compliance with the treaty. The U.S. ratified the ICCPR in 1992 and is obligated to submit to periodic reviews of its treaty implementation efforts.

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.

02/14/2013

Voter Suppression

Celebrating Black History Month and Protecting Voting Rights

By Dennis Parker, Director, ACLU Racial Justice Program at 2:07pm

Like many Americans who watched President Obama's State of the Union address, I was moved by Desiline Victor, the 102 year-old African American woman who was forced to endure a six hour wait in order to vote in the 2012 presidential election. It is outrageous that anyone, let alone a woman of her age, should be subject to such a trial in order to exercise her most fundamental right as an American. Her determination and tenacity to cast her ballot was inspiring.

01/21/2013

Immigration Detention

Mr. President, What Will Be Your Civil Rights Legacy?

By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 10:09am

Watching President Obama take the Oath of Office four years ago was a historic moment I will never forget. I remember meeting him when he was an Illinois state senator...

American Civil Liberties Union