Home : Voting Rights : Minority Voting Rights

ACLU SUES TO PROTECT EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (03/07/2008)
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.

Department of Justice Objects To South Dakota’s Discriminatory Redistricting Law (02/12/2008)
LAKE ANDES, SD – The American Civil Liberties Union applauded the Department of Justice today for enforcing the Voting Rights Act by objecting to a discriminatory South Dakota redistricting ordinance. The law would have increased the size of the Charles Mix County Commission from three to five members – reducing the voting strength of Native Americans. The Justice Department’s objection prevents the county from implementing the change, which was scheduled to go into effect today.

ACLU Wins Historic Agreement in South Dakota Voting Rights Case (12/04/2007)
LAKE ANDES, SD – In a historic agreement reached today with the American Civil Liberties Union, a South Dakota county has agreed to federal supervision of its elections through 2024. The settlement resolves a 2005 ACLU lawsuit charging Charles Mix County with discriminating against Native American voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

ACLU of Tennessee Files Lawsuit to Protect Retirees’ Voting Rights (11/07/2007)
NASHVILLE – The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of senior citizens living full-time in their recreational vehicles who were purged from Tennessee voting rolls because they registered to vote using the street address of a commercial mail forwarding service.

ACLU of Virginia and NAACP Announce Election Day Hotlines and "Voter Empowerment Cards" (10/25/2007)
RICHMOND, Va. – The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP have established hotlines for voters who run into problems on Election Day and are distributing informational cards describing voters' rights at the polls. The cards are available in English and Spanish.

Alaska Natives and ACLU Sue Over Voting Rights Violations in Bethel (06/11/2007)
ANCHORAGE — The Native American Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, acting on behalf of four Bethel-area Alaska Natives, filed a federal lawsuit today charging state and local elections officials with ongoing violations of the federal Voting Rights Act. The groups charge that state and local officials have denied voter assistance and failed to provide oral language assistance and voting materials to citizens who primarily speak Yup’ik, the first language of many Alaska Natives in the Bethel region.

Justice Department Sides with ACLU in Wyoming Voting Rights Case (12/15/2006)
ATLANTA, GA - The American Civil Liberties Union today hailed the decision by the federal government to defend the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits the use of voting practices that dilute minority voting strength. The Justice Department has filed an official notice of intervention on the side of the ACLU in a federal voting rights lawsuit brought on behalf of Native American voters on the Wind River Reservation in Fremont County, Wyoming.

Federal Court Sides with Native American Voters in South Dakota (12/06/2006)
PIERRE, SD - The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a federal district court decision in favor of Native Americans voters in Martin, South Dakota. The decision, which was released late yesterday, orders city officials to redraw city council district lines to correct violations of the Voting Rights Act that prevented Native Americans from having an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice.

Virginia’s ACLU and NAACP Team Up to Help Voters on Election Day (11/02/2006)
RICHMOND, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP announced today that they have launched two hotlines for voters who run into problems on Election Day. The groups are also distributing cards that inform Virginians of their rights at the polls, and have offered to provide legal assistance to voters whose rights are violated.

ACLU Calls for Correction of Damaging Letter to Orange County Voters (10/20/2006)
ORANGE, CA. -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today asked Secretary of State Bruce McPherson and Orange County Registrar Neal Kelley to immediately correct a damaging letter sent to thousands of registered voters in Orange County earlier this month. The letter, written in Spanish and purportedly sent by a group called the California Coalition for Immigration Reform, said that immigrants could face jail time and deportation if they showed up at the polls on Election Day.

ACLU Asks Justice Department to Monitor Election Day in Virginia (10/20/2006)
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA -- Citing a pattern of voter suppression, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia today asked the U.S. Department of Justice to send federal election observers to Chesterfield County on Election Day, November 7, 2006.

South Dakota Ordered to Comply with Voting Rights Act (08/22/2006)
ST. LOUIS, MO -- The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a final federal appeals court decision affirming the redrawing of legislative district lines in South Dakota to ensure there is no discrimination against Native American voters. The decision came in Bone Shirt v. Hazeltine, a case originally brought by the ACLU on behalf of four Native American voters in December 2001, after the South Dakota legislature redrew the boundaries of the state's 35 legislative districts.

ACLU Launches Campaign on Voting Rights Act Reauthorization; Reports, Public Education Materials Issued on Anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" (03/07/2006)
WASHINGTON - On the 41st anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the American Civil Liberties Union today launched a new campaign, "Every Voice. Every Vote. Renew the Voting Rights Act" to raise public awareness and urge Congress to reauthorize the expiring sections of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. The campaign launch was marked by the release of two comprehensive reports that detail the need for the renewal of that historic civil rights law.

ACLU of Minnesota Pleased With Court Order Protecting Native American Voting Rights (09/13/2005)
ST. PAUL-The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota today praised a court order ensuring that American Indian voters will be able to register to vote using their Tribal identification on the same par as a state-issued driver's license.

Three-Judge Panel Rules Unanimously in Favor of Native American Voters in South Dakota (07/14/2005)
RAPID CITY, SD -- The American Civil Liberties Union announced today that a panel of three federal court judges has issued an injunction against the state of South Dakota, ruling unanimously that state officials must comply with the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) and obtain prior approval from the Department of Justice before implementing a new law that the judges say ""gives the appearance of a rushed attempt to circumvent the VRA.""

District Court Ruling in Quiver v. Nelson (07/14/2005)

Civil Rights Groups Urge Justice Department to Block Georgia Photo ID Law (07/08/2005)
ATLANTA -- More than two dozen civil rights, religious, labor and advocacy groups urged the Department of Justice to block implementation of a new Georgia law which they say will have a substantially negative ""racial impact"" on minority voters. The groups argue that the new photo identification requirements contained in Georgia House Bill 244 are unnecessary and were purposefully adopted to make minority voters worse off.

Remembering Bloody Sunday: Anniversary is Reminder of Importance of Voting Rights Act (03/06/2005)
Forty years ago today, television viewers saw 500 peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Ala., teargassed and beaten with billy clubs by police. The marchers were protesting the murder of a young unarmed black man and the continued disenfranchisement of blacks in the South. The brutal, unprovoked attack of them sparked national outrage, and was a catalyst of the civil rights movement.

ACLU Charges South Dakota County Blocking Native Americans from Holding Public Office (01/27/2005)
CHARLES MIX COUNTY, SD--The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit charging the Charles Mix County Commission with violating Native American voting rights by using election districts that are unequal in population and divide the Native American community.

Rhode Island Settles ACLU Provisional Ballot Lawsuit (11/01/2004)
PROVIDENCE, RI -- Responding to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed earlier this morning, the state Board of Elections today agreed to count all provisional ballots cast by voters who are unable to provide identification at their polling place. The board had previously indicated that it would disqualify all such ballots cast by individuals who had registered to vote by mail after January 1, 2003 but who did not submit an identification document with their application.