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Voting Rights Act vs. the Courts

With all the talk over the individual mandate and health-care reform, oral argument in Shelby County v. Holder yesterday in D.C. federal court got little attention. The Alabama county of Shelby is challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which requires designated local and state governments to get approval from the […]

Voting Rights Act Still Needed to Beat Back Voter Suppression

Broad Range of Briefs Urge the United States Supreme Court to Uphold a Landmark Voting Rights Protection  (Washington, D.C.) Today, a broad and diverse range of friend-of-the-court briefs are being filed in Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, an important case that challenges the constitutionality of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in the United States […]

Voting Rights Act Reauthorization 2006

On July 27, 2006, President Bush became the fourth president to extend core temporary enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act, and the second to sign a 25-year extension. On signing the bill into law, he committed his administration to “vigorously enforce the provisions of this law” and to “defend it in court.” The Reauthorization […]

Voting Rights Act of 1965: History and Timeline

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Reflecting on the Road to the VRA 60 Years After its Passage Voting is how we express our power in our democracy. It is how we peacefully use our voices to affect countless outcomes in our lives — including our access to public education, affordable housing, basic health care, […]

Voting Rights Act Call To Action Flyer

Voting Rights Act at 45: Why we still need it

Over the years, hundreds of discriminatory voting changes have been blocked by Section 5, including attempts to cancel elections in the face of growing minority voting strength, efforts to draw black candidates out of their districts, discriminatory redistricting plans and other naked attempts to turn the clock back on the progress that has been made. Section 5, […]

Voting Rights Act | What is in the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act?

Voting Rights and the Fierce Urgency of Now Why We Need The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act Essential voting rights legislation with majority support in Congress and among the public remains stuck in the U.S. Senate due to the filibuster, an arcane rule with a racist history.   The Freedom to […]

Voting and Racial History

Instead of ensuring that voting rights are extended to all Americans, many state legislatures are engaged in efforts to shut out voters in this election year, taking aim at young people, immigrants and minorities. Last week, a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard a case that could […]

Voting and Civil Rights Organizations Release New Voting Resource for People with Past Convictions

Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU Florida), the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of  Law, and the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project (ACLU) released a new resource for lawyers and advocacy groups to help Floridians with past felony convictions determine their eligibility to register […]

Voting and Civil Rights Organizations File Suit Over Florida’s Flawed Voter Registration Form

Omissions put thousands of Floridians with past criminal convictions at risk of criminal prosecution Media contacts: Chris Ford, Legal Defense Fund, 212-965-2200, media@naacpldf.org Kendall Karson, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, 646-925-8746, karsonk@brennan.law.nyu.edu Blake Summerlin, League of Women Voters of Florida, 772-217-0772, blake@lwvfl.org Kayla Vix, League of Women Voters of the US, 202-809-9668, media@lwv.org […]