Home : Voting Rights

Washington State Supreme Court Says Endorsements by Talk Show Hosts Are Not Campaign Contributions (04/26/2007)
SEATTLE - The Washington Supreme Court today decided unanimously that endorsements of ballot issues by radio talk show hosts should not be treated as campaign contributions. The ACLU of Washington submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in the case backing the free speech rights of the talk show hosts in the case.

Florida Clemency Reform Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be, Says ACLU (04/05/2007)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - The American Civil Liberties Union expressed disappointment with today’s announcement by Governor Charlie Crist and the Board of Executive Clemency regarding Florida's new rules for restoration of civil and voting rights. Although this first step toward comprehensive reform represents incremental progress, said the ACLU, the new rules fall far short of fixing Florida’s civil and voting rights crisis.

ACLU of Florida Raises Concerns Over Flaws in Civil Rights Restoration Plan (04/02/2007)
TALLAHASSEE, FL – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today applauded Governor Charlie Crist’s announcement that he and the cabinet (sitting as the Board of Executive Clemency) will address civil rights restoration for ex-offenders through clemency reform this week. However, the ACLU warned that any plan that has exclusions or requires restitution to be paid before civil rights can be restored would be unfair.

ACLU Hails General Assembly for Passing Maryland Voting Rights Restoration Bill (03/27/2007)
BALTIMORE - After many years of advocacy based on the fundamental principle of democracy, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland today hailed passage of legislation by both houses of the General Assembly to restore the right to vote to individuals who have paid their debt to society. Last week, the Senate voted 28-17 in favor of SB 488, and last night the House passed the legislation by a vote of 78-60. Now, the bill goes to the desk of Governor Martin O'Malley.

Sarasota Voters Charge Election Officials and Voting Machine Company With Withholding Evidence of Voting Machine Malfunction (03/21/2007)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Sarasota County voters contesting the 13th Congressional District election filed court papers late yesterday charging that Florida election officials and Electronic Systems & Software (ES&S) apparently misled a judge by claiming that there was no evidence that machine malfunction contributed to the loss of 18,000 votes in that race.

ACLU of Massachusetts and Disability Law Center Applaud State Approval of New Voting Technology (03/05/2007)
BOSTON - The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Disability Law Center today again joined forces to applaud Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin's decision to approve the use of a ballot-marking voting machine that is both accessible and secure.

State of Maryland Withdraws Subpoena for Lawyer’s Computer and Personnel Records (03/02/2007)
ANNAPOLIS, MD - In a move hailed as a victory by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, Attorney General Douglas Gansler is withdrawing a subpoena demanding production of a civil rights lawyer’s computer hard drive and personnel records. This is the latest development in a long-running voting rights dispute between the Maryland Green Party and the State Board of Elections.

ACLU Urges Congress to Support Additional Safeguards and Reliability in Electronic Voting Systems (02/07/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union called on Congress to support measures to improve electronic voting systems and protect Americans’ full voting rights. In a Senate Rules Committee hearing held today, speakers detailed the need for electronic voting systems such as Direct Recording Electronic machines (DREs) to accurately record, count, tabulate, and report votes.

ACLU of Florida Applauds Governor Crist's Recommendation to Scrap Touch-Screen Voting Machines (01/30/2007)
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today commended Governor Charlie Crist’s announcement that he will recommend that Florida scrap paperless touch-screen voting machines. The following statement can be attributed to Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida:

Florida Voters Join Emergency Petition for Access to Voting Machine Information (01/09/2007)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - Voters from Sarasota County who are contesting the election in Florida's 13th Congressional District joined and added to an emergency petition for review filed last Wednesday by candidate Christine Jennings in the First District Court of Appeals. The petition asks the higher court for expedited review of Leon Circuit Court Judge William L. Gary's December 29 order denying plaintiffs access to the e-voting hardware, software and source code used in November's election.