Voting Rights
Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
What's at stake
Learn about Voting Rights
Learn about Voting Rights
Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
Voting Rights
Status: Ongoing
South Carolina unlawfully assigned voters to congressional districts based on their race and intentionally discriminated against Black voters in violation of the Equal Protection Clause.
What's at stake
Learn about Voting Rights
Learn about Voting Rights
Stay informed about our latest work in the courts
By completing this form, I agree to receive occasional emails per the terms of the ACLU's privacy statement.
Featured
U.S. Supreme Court
Jan 2021
New York Immigration Coalition v. Trump
The American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, and Arnold & Porter filed a federal lawsuit July 24, 2020, on behalf of immigrants’ rights groups challenging President Trump’s order seeking to block people who are undocumented from being counted in the U.S. census.
Status: Ongoing
View case
U.S. Supreme Court
Jun 2018
Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute
The American Civil Liberties Union and partner organizations filed a lawsuit challenging Ohio’s practice of ‘purging’ or removing people who vote infrequently from its voting rolls, charging that it is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
Jun 2016
Eason v. New York State Board of Elections
The American Civil Liberties Union and Disability Rights Advocates sued the New York State Board of Elections and Department of Motor Vehicles over online voter registration that is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
Status: Closed (Settled)
View case
North Carolina
May 2016
League of Women Voters of North Carolina, et al. v. North Carolina
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s voter suppression law the very day it was signed by Gov. Pat McCrory in August 2013. The suit targets provisions of the law that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit “out-of-precinct” voting. It seeks to stop North Carolina from applying these provisions, arguing that they unduly burden the right to vote and discriminate against African-American voters, in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Status: Closed (Judgment)
View case
All Cases
97 Voting Rights Cases
Texas
Mar 2024
Crystal Mason v. State of Texas
Crystal Mason thought she was performing her civic duty by filling out a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. She didn’t know it would land her a five-year prison sentence, upending her family and the life she had built. At the time, Ms. Mason was on federal supervised release, a preliminary period of freedom for individuals who have served their full time of incarceration in federal prison. Ms. Mason didn’t know, and nobody told her, that the state considered her ineligible to vote while on supervised release. Because her name didn’t appear on voter rolls, she filed a provisional ballot, consistent with federal law. The state never counted her ballot but has still sought to send her to prison for an innocent mistake.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Texas
Voting Rights
Crystal Mason v. State of Texas
Crystal Mason thought she was performing her civic duty by filling out a provisional ballot in the 2016 election. She didn’t know it would land her a five-year prison sentence, upending her family and the life she had built. At the time, Ms. Mason was on federal supervised release, a preliminary period of freedom for individuals who have served their full time of incarceration in federal prison. Ms. Mason didn’t know, and nobody told her, that the state considered her ineligible to vote while on supervised release. Because her name didn’t appear on voter rolls, she filed a provisional ballot, consistent with federal law. The state never counted her ballot but has still sought to send her to prison for an innocent mistake.
Mar 2024
Status: Ongoing
View case
Kansas
Mar 2024
Vote America v. Schwab
Civic engagement organizations play a critical role in promoting the right to vote, including by helping people register to vote. Kansas passed a law restricting those civic engagement efforts, prohibiting organizations from sending pre-filled applications for mail ballots to voters. The Kansas law is part of a nationwide trend of restricting the right to vote by imposing burdens on civic engagement organizations.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Kansas
Voting Rights
Vote America v. Schwab
Civic engagement organizations play a critical role in promoting the right to vote, including by helping people register to vote. Kansas passed a law restricting those civic engagement efforts, prohibiting organizations from sending pre-filled applications for mail ballots to voters. The Kansas law is part of a nationwide trend of restricting the right to vote by imposing burdens on civic engagement organizations.
Mar 2024
Status: Ongoing
View case
Feb 2024
La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Gregory W. Abbott
Texas has growing Hispanic and Black populations that helped propel record voter turnout in the November 2020 election. The Texas Legislature responded to this increased civic participation with an omnibus election bill titled Senate Bill 1—SB 1 for short—that targeted election practices that made voting more accessible to traditionally marginalized voters like voters of color, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency. Since 2021, SB 1 has resulted in tens of thousands of lawful votes being rejected, and it remains a threat to democracy in Texas.
View case
Voting Rights
La Union Del Pueblo Entero v. Gregory W. Abbott
Texas has growing Hispanic and Black populations that helped propel record voter turnout in the November 2020 election. The Texas Legislature responded to this increased civic participation with an omnibus election bill titled Senate Bill 1—SB 1 for short—that targeted election practices that made voting more accessible to traditionally marginalized voters like voters of color, voters with disabilities, and voters with limited English proficiency. Since 2021, SB 1 has resulted in tens of thousands of lawful votes being rejected, and it remains a threat to democracy in Texas.
Feb 2024
View case
Florida
Feb 2024
Hispanic Federation v. Byrd
Of all 50 states, Florida ranks 47th in percentage of its eligible citizens who are registered to vote. Yet, in May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7050, which bars any noncitizen — regardless of lawful residence status — from working or volunteering for third-party voter registration organizations (3PVROs) who register eligible Floridians to vote. In practice, the law imposes a $50,000 fine on a 3PVRO for each noncitizen who engages in voter-registration work on a 3PVRO’s behalf. This law would silence and put out of business countless community-based groups that rely on both citizens and noncitizens to help eligible voters in their communities participate in their democracy.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Florida
Voting Rights
Hispanic Federation v. Byrd
Of all 50 states, Florida ranks 47th in percentage of its eligible citizens who are registered to vote. Yet, in May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7050, which bars any noncitizen — regardless of lawful residence status — from working or volunteering for third-party voter registration organizations (3PVROs) who register eligible Floridians to vote. In practice, the law imposes a $50,000 fine on a 3PVRO for each noncitizen who engages in voter-registration work on a 3PVRO’s behalf. This law would silence and put out of business countless community-based groups that rely on both citizens and noncitizens to help eligible voters in their communities participate in their democracy.
Feb 2024
Status: Ongoing
View case
Mississippi
Feb 2024
Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP v. State Board of Election Commissioners
Mississippi has a growing Black population, which is already the largest Black population percentage of any state in the country. Yet. Black Mississippians continue to be significantly under-represented in the state legislature, as Mississippi’s latest districting maps fail to reflect the reality of the state’s changing demographics. During the 2022 redistricting process, the Mississippi legislature refused to create any new districts where Black voters have a chance to elect their preferred representative. The current district lines therefore dilute the voting power of Black Mississippians and continue to deprive them of political representation that is responsive to their needs and concerns, including severe disparities in education and healthcare.
Status: Ongoing
View case
Mississippi
Voting Rights
Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP v. State Board of Election Commissioners
Mississippi has a growing Black population, which is already the largest Black population percentage of any state in the country. Yet. Black Mississippians continue to be significantly under-represented in the state legislature, as Mississippi’s latest districting maps fail to reflect the reality of the state’s changing demographics. During the 2022 redistricting process, the Mississippi legislature refused to create any new districts where Black voters have a chance to elect their preferred representative. The current district lines therefore dilute the voting power of Black Mississippians and continue to deprive them of political representation that is responsive to their needs and concerns, including severe disparities in education and healthcare.
Feb 2024
Status: Ongoing
View case