Home : Voting Rights

ACLU Challenges Alabama Voter Disenfranchisement Laws In Court (07/21/2008)
MONTGOMERY, AL – The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Alabama filed a lawsuit today challenging the state's voter disenfranchisement laws and practices as unconstitutional. According to its state constitution, Alabama may deny voting rights to individuals who have been convicted of felonies involving "moral turpitude." Although this term is not defined, the constitution clearly states that only the legislature can decide which felonies qualify under this category. In its lawsuit today, the ACLU charges that the state is disfranchising thousands of Alabamians under a much broader category of convictions than is permissible under the constitution, relying in part on an unlawful opinion issued by Alabama's attorney general.

ACLU of Louisiana Applauds Pro-Democracy Move in Louisiana (07/16/2008)
NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's lawmakers stood up for democracy when they passed, and Gov. Bobby Jindal signed, a new law requiring the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to notify people leaving its supervision about how to regain their voting rights. The law, Act No. 604, also requires the Department to provide these individuals with voter registration applications.

New Online Search Tool Gives Ex-Offenders Ability To Search Clemency Status (05/13/2008)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the ACLU of Florida and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition launched an online search tool that will enable people with past felony convictions in Florida to search state records and find out if their civil rights, including their voting rights, have been restored. The online search tool is available on both Web sites: www.restorerights.org and www.aclufl.org.

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.

ACLU Of Utah Releases Report On Ogden Election Irregularities (04/25/2008)
SALT LAKE CITY - The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah released a report today detailing the results of an investigation into election irregularities surrounding the Ogden 2007 municipal election.

ACLU Challenges Montana's Flawed System For Third Party Ballot Access (04/09/2008)
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 (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 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.

ACLU and BlackElectorate.com Announce Partnership To Raise Awareness Of Felony Disfranchisement (03/04/2008)
NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union and BlackElectorate.com's "Business and Building" Community are proud to announce the launch of their partnership to raise awareness of the devastating effects of felony disfranchisement on this country’s African-American community. The partnership fuses the strengths of each organization – the ACLU’s longtime involvement in states which set policy on this issue and BlackElectorate.com’s broad audience and close ties with African-American leaders – to give this issue greater visibility within the black community in this historic election year.