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ACLU Commends House Oversight Hearing on Department of Justice’s Plan for 2008 Election (09/24/2008)
Washington, DC – Today the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee and the Elections Subcommittee of the House Administration Committee are scheduled to hold a joint hearing, entitled “Federal, State and Local Efforts to Prepare for the 2008 Election.” As part of this hearing, Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, will testify. Recently, Attorney General Mukasey told voting rights advocates that there was no greater priority in the next two months for DOJ than to ensure a smooth election in November. To keep this promise and to protect the fundamental right to vote, DOJ must be prepared prior to Election Day with a comprehensive plan. The ACLU, therefore, applauds this congressional oversight of DOJ’s preparations for the 2008 elections.

Retired RVers' Right to Vote Restored in Time for November Election (09/24/2008)
CLEVELAND, TN – After over two years of administrative and legal wrangling, ACLU-TN has successfully negotiated an agreement that allows full-time RVers Ron and Leone Teel and Tom Layton, to vote in the November presidential election.

Court Rules That Libertarian Party Nominees Must Be Placed On Massachusetts Ballot (09/23/2008)
BOSTON - A federal judge has ordered the Secretary of the Commonwealth to list Bob Barr and Wayne A. Root as the Libertarian Party candidates for President and Vice-President on the November ballot. As a result of a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Barr and Root, who were selected at the party's nominating convention, will be substituted for George Phillies and Chris Bennett, two unsuccessful candidates whose names appeared on the party's state nominating petitions.

Advancement Project And ACLU Sue Michigan Secretary Of State Over Unlawful Voter Purging (09/18/2008)
DETROIT – Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit late yesterday challenging two statewide voter purge programs that could potentially disfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters in advance of the November 2008 presidential election. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Detroit against Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Christopher M. Thomas, and Ypsilanti Clerk Frances McMullen.

ACLU, NAACP Object To Discriminatory Election Enforcement In Wisconsin (09/17/2008)
The formation of a voter fraud task force only in Milwaukee County reinforces an unsubstantiated perception that City of Milwaukee residents are more prone to commit election fraud. And, regardless of intent, a racial subtext is barely below the surface, given the fact that Milwaukee is the only majority-minority city in the state.

ACLU Sues Board of Elections over November Election Day Voting (09/11/2008)
The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a recently-adopted Board of Elections' ("Board") regulation that the ACLU claims may improperly disenfranchise certain voters on Election Day. The suit, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Angel Taveras in R.I. Superior Court, specifically addresses the situation of qualified but unregistered voters who have the right, under state law, to go to their city or town hall on Election Day and cast a limited ballot for President and Vice-President.

Veterans Now Allowed To Register To Vote At VA Facilities (09/09/2008)
NEW YORK – In a victory for voting rights, the Department of Veterans Affairs reversed course Monday by lifting a ban on nonpartisan voter registration drives in its facilities. The American Civil Liberties Union opposed the ban as an unconstitutional infringement on the voting rights of over 100,000 veterans who live in the VA's nursing homes, homeless shelters and rehabilitation centers.

ACLU Urges Registrars to Allow Students to Register to Vote in Local Elections (09/03/2008)
Richmond, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia this morning is faxing letters to 30 local registrars urging them to allow students to register to vote where they attend school. The registrars were selected because they oversee voter registrations in areas where college students are likely to live.

Federal Court Upholds Voting Rights Of Alaska Natives Who Need Language Assistance (07/31/2008)
ANCHORAGE — Late yesterday, a federal court ordered Alaska's state and local elections officials to provide effective language assistance to citizens who speak Yup'ik, the primary language of a majority of voters in the Bethel region of Alaska. The victory came in a legal challenge brought by Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four Alaska Natives and four tribal governments.

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.

ACLU Hotline To Help Virginia Voters Who Encounter Problems During Presidential Primaries (02/11/2008)
RICHMOND, VA - The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia will have its hotline open tomorrow for voters who run into problems at the polls during the presidential primaries. The hotline will enable voters to contact someone at the ACLU if they feel they have been illegally denied the right to vote. The ACLU hotline number is 804/644-8080.

ACLU Asks Federal Court to Block Use of Unfair Voting Technology (01/28/2008)
CLEVELAND - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Ohio filed a motion today asking federal Judge Kathleen O'Malley of the Northern District of Ohio to prevent Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections from using balloting technology that does not give notice to voters of problems with their ballot. The motion follows a lawsuit filed by the ACLU on January 17 challenging the constitutionality of this technology.

ACLU of Ohio Applauds Statement by County Elections Officials (01/24/2008)
CLEVELAND - Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio renewed its call for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections officials to heed the advice of the state’s top organization for election officials and reverse their decision to switch to voting technology that does not alert voters to errors on ballots.

ACLU Challenges Ohio’s Unequal Voting Technology in Federal Court (01/17/2008)
CLEVELAND – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit against state election officials in federal court today challenging the use of unequal, inaccurate and inadequate voting technology in Ohio’s most populous county. Today’s legal action seeks to block Cuyahoga County’s recent shift from using electronic voting machines to a system that lacks the ability to provide voters with notice of balloting errors and an opportunity to correct such mistakes. According to the ACLU, the use of this new system violates the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment as well as the Voting Rights Act.

Senate Committee to Take Up Voter Restoration Bill Today (01/15/2008)
Richmond, VA – The Privileges and Elections Committee of the Virginia Senate will likely vote this afternoon on a constitutional amendment to allow non-violent felons who have completed their sentences to be able to vote. Under existing law in Virginia, all felons are permanently disenfranchised, and may have their right to vote restored only by the Governor.

Supreme Court Hears ACLU's Landmark Voter ID Case (01/09/2008)
WASHINGTON -- In the most important voting rights case since Bush v. Gore settled the 2000 presidential election, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in 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. According to the ACLU, the Indiana law creates an unconstitutional burden on voting rights.