Home : Voting Rights

Restoring Voting Rights of Formerly Incarcerated Persons In 2007, the ACLU's Racial Justice Program helped make many legislative advances in felon enfranchisement: In states like Florida and Maryland, major reforms have been made, and the work continues throughout the country to ensure that all people can exercise their right to vote. STATE-BY-STATE > Developments in Felon Enfranchisement Laws > Map NEWS: Rhode Islanders Endorse Post-Prison Voting Rights On Tuesday, November 7, Rhode Island voters approved Question 2 on the state ballot, a measure that removed the ban on voting by people with felony convictions on parole and probation. The referendum had been placed on the ballot by the state legislature, and received broad support in the state. Rhode Island now joins Massachusetts and New Hampshire in automatically restoring voting rights upon release from prison. For more information, see http://www.brennancenter.org/(PDF). Clean and Swift Voting Rights Act Renewal Does Historic Law Justice The ACLU applauds the Senate's vote to renew the Voting Rights Act before key provisions of the law expire in 2007. Read more >> > REPORT: Case for Extending and Amending the Voting Rights Act     Introduction and Summary     Table of Contents > Promises to Keep: The Impact of the Voting Rights Act in 2006 The National Election of 2004 The ACLU monitored election polls nationally and is responding to incidents of voter intimidation, vote suppression or election foul-ups in Minnesota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Florida. ACLU Comments to Commission The U.S. Election Assistance Commission serves as a clearinghouse and resource for information and review of procedures relating to the administration of Federal elections. The ACLU submitted comments to the EAC to ensure states take certain steps concerning purging of voters as states implement computerized voter lists. Read more >> Q&A: Why Absentee Voting in the Military Should Be Secret Question and answer session with ACLU Voting Rights Project Director Laughlin McDonald. Read more >> Report: Purged! How flawed and inconsistent voting systems could deprive millions of the right to vote. Read more >>

NARF AND ACLU Ask Federal Court To Stop Disenfranchisement Of Alaska Natives Who Need Language Assistance (5/5/2008)
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 (4/28/2008)
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.

ACLU Challenges Montana's Flawed System For Third Party Ballot Access (4/9/2008)
HELENA, MT - The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit in federal court late yesterday challenging Montana's scheme for getting independent and minor-party candidates on the ballot. In the lawsuit, the ACLU charges that the state's burdensome system for non-major party candidates seeking to run for office is unconstitutional and asks the court to prohibit state officials from enforcing it in this year's elections.

Vote by Mail Legislation Eliminates Burdens on the Right to Vote (4/2/2008)
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 SUES TO PROTECT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (3/7/2008)
Oklahoma voters filed a protest on March 7, 2008 before the state Supreme Court challenging irregularities and questionable practices in the collection of signatures by the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative. The initiative is one of a series of ballot measures that California businessman Ward Connerly and his organization known as the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) have spearheaded across the country.