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NARF AND ACLU Ask Federal Court To Stop Disenfranchisement Of Alaska Natives Who Need Language Assistance (05/05/2008)
ANCHORAGE — On behalf of four Alaska Natives and four tribal governments, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion in federal court today ordering state and local elections officials to provide effective oral language assistance and voting materials to citizens who speak Yup'ik, the primary language of a majority of voters in the Bethel region of Alaska. The motion comes in a lawsuit filed in 2007 charging state and local elections officials with ongoing violations of the federal Voting Rights Act.

ACLU Disappointed With Supreme Court's Voter ID Decision (04/28/2008)
WASHINGTON - In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a challenge to Indiana's most-restrictive-in-the-nation voter identification law. The American Civil Liberties Union's case, Crawford v. Marion County Election Board - consolidated with Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita - is an appeal of two lower court decisions that upheld the state's law requiring voters to present government-issued photo IDs in order to vote. The ACLU argued that the Indiana law creates an unconstitutional burden on voting rights.

Vote by Mail Legislation Eliminates Burdens on the Right to Vote (04/02/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed strong support for H.R. 281, the “Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act,” scheduled for markup by the House Administration Committee later this morning. Sponsored by Representative Susan Davis (D-CA), H.R. 281 would ensure that all Americans have an equal opportunity to vote by mail in federal elections for any reason.

ACLU Lawsuit Says Officials Unconstitutionally Prevented Man From Voting In Virginia (02/28/2008)
RICHMOND, VA – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Virginia today filed a federal lawsuit against a Virginia county’s voting officials for refusing to allow a resident to vote when he was unable to produce identification. Virginia law allows registered voters in state elections to vote without an ID, once they have signed an identity verification form.

ACLU Sues Over Tennessee’s Felon Disenfranchisement Law (02/25/2008)
NASHVILLE – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Tennessee filed a lawsuit today in federal court challenging the state’s 2006 law that made the restoration of voting rights for people convicted of crimes contingent on the payment of all outstanding legal financial obligations (LFOs), namely restitution and child support fees. According to the ACLU’s lawsuit, requiring some individuals to bear an undue financial burden before voting is tantamount to a poll tax in violation of the constitutional right to vote and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.

The Case for Extending and Amending the Voting Rights Act - Table of Contents (03/07/2006)
Table of Contents of the ACLU report outlining the continued need for the Voting Rights Act. Documents ACLU cases brought in 31 states to protect the right to vote and challenge discrimination in voting.

ACLU Calls on Congress to Renew and Restore Voting Rights Act, Says Move Would be Fitting Tribute to Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (01/13/2006)
WASHINGTON -- "Few Americans have done more to transform the civil rights in this country than the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.; he remains one of the greatest leaders of the American civil rights movement. His leadership and campaign of non-violence in the struggle for equality led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Voting While Incarcerated: A Tool Kit for Advocates Seeking to Register, and Facilitate Voting by, Eligible People in Jail (10/04/2005)
This toolkit profiles efforts to register and make voting possible by eligible people in California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., jails. It lists the various models that may be used to register such people and to make it possible for them to vote from these facilities. There is also a list of issues to address with local jail and elections officials as well as specific strategies for success. Attached are sample materials to encourage and explain voting from jail, and resources including the law and voter registration contacts and deadlines for each state.

Voting Rights Act Brochure (03/04/2005)

Voting Rights in the South, 1982 (12/29/2004)
Published in January 1982, this 132-page special report documents the ACLU's efforts to enforce the 1965 Federal Voting Rights Act and assesses the continued discrimination against minority voters throughout the South.

Nick v. Bethel - Plaintiffs' Statement of Facts in Support of Their Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (05/02/2008)

Nick v. Bethel - Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction (05/02/2008)

Gillette v. Weimer - Complaint (02/28/2008)

Complaint in Johnson et al v. Tennessee (02/25/2008)

Complaint in ACLU v. Brunner (01/17/2008)

ACLU Letter to Committee on House Administration Leadership on the Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act of 2007 (04/01/2008)

ACLU Testimony for Senate Rules and Administration Committee on Disfranchisement Resulting From Myths About In-Person Voter Fraud (03/11/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and its hundreds of thousands of members, activists, and fifty-three affiliates nationwide, we commend the Committee for examining how the myth of in-person voter fraud is being used to disfranchise American citizens. We wish to submit this letter as written testimony for the Committee hearing record on March 12, 2008.

ACLU Letter Applauding H.R. 281, The Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act of 2007 (02/28/2008)
On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), over half a million members and activists, and fifty-three affiliates nationwide, we are writing to express our support for your bill, H.R. 281, the “Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act of 2007.” H.R. 281 would ensure that all Americans have an equal opportunity to vote by mail in federal elections for any reason. This bill would give all voters the choice of voting by mail by eliminating the unnecessary, burdensome, and often intrusive requirements that some states impose on voters requesting absentee ballots.

ACLU Testimony for Voter Suppression and Intimidation Hearing (02/26/2008)
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I want to thank you for providing me an opportunity to submit this statement on denial and suppression of the American Indian vote. The examples discussed below are taken mainly from litigation brought by the ACLU Voting Rights Project in Indian Country. Techniques for vote denial and suppression have included the maintenance and manipulation of discriminatory election procedures, the refusal to provide access to registration and voting, the adoption of discriminatory ID requirements for voting, and unwarranted allegations of voter fraud.

ACLU Presses House Committee to Tackle Nationwide Voter Suppression (02/26/2008)
Washington, DC – Voting rights experts testified today before the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in a hearing to examine voter suppression in America. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, which is tasked with enforcing civil rights and voting rights law, has come under fire since the start of the Bush administration for politicization, resulting in departures of longtime career staff and abuse of its enforcement authority to block access to the polls. Laughlin McDonald, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, submitted written testimony illuminating disenfranchisement among American Indian voters.

The Case for Extending and Amending the Voting Rights Act - Introduction and Summary (03/06/2006)
Voting Rights Litigation 1982-2006: A Report of the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union

Voting Rights Act Timeline (03/04/2005)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965: What Expires in 2007 and What Does Not (03/04/2005)

History of the ACLU Voting Rights Project (03/04/2005)

The Voting Rights Act: What It Has Meant and What Is at Stake (03/04/2005)