Home : Voting Rights

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 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.

ACLU of Michigan Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Primary Election Law (01/11/2008)
DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today a federal lawsuit challenging the new primary law that requires the Michigan Secretary of State to provide party preference declarations solely to the two major political parties of the State. The law, passed in August of 2007, makes it a misdemeanor for others, including political parties, journalists, academics or historians, to have access or use the lists. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Green Party of Michigan, Libertarian Party of Michigan, the Reform Party of Michigan, the Metro Times and Winning Strategies, a political consulting firm.

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.

ACLU of Ohio Says Hasty Election Changes May Disenfranchise Voters (12/17/2007)
CLEVELAND – The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio today cautioned election officials that making drastic changes to voting technologies could inadvertently disenfranchise Ohio voters in the upcoming 2008 elections. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a report outlining some of the security shortcomings of Ohio's voting systems. In addition, Brunner issued specific recommendations that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections adopt central count optical scan technology in place of its current system.

ACLU Asks Registrars in First Congressional District to Make Certain that Poll Workers Are Trained to Inform Voters of Alternatives to Showing ID (12/12/2007)
Richmond, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia is sending today a memo to every voter registrar in the First Congressional District, where a special election will be held tomorrow to elect a replacement for Rep. Jo Ann Davis, who recently passed away. The memo asks registrars to make certain that poll workers inform voters that they are permitted to vote even if they are not carrying any form of identification with them.