Category Archives: Voting Rights Act

“John Lewis and the need to preserve history”

December 31, 2019, 2:10 pmVoting Rights ActJustin Levitt

Brandon Tensley offers thoughts on the occasion of Rep. John Lewis’s announcement of his fight against pancreatic cancer – the most recent courageous fight of an iconic career. (We know that animal Twitter is heartwarming, sure. But if you’re… Continue reading

Must-Read: “Precinct closures harm voter turnout in Georgia, AJC analysis finds”

December 13, 2019, 7:11 pmelection administration, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

AJC: Amid widespread voter distrust of government oversight of elections and questions about ballot access, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted a unique statistical analysis to learn how precinct closures and distance to the polls impact voting.The AJC mapped Georgia’s 7 million… Continue reading

“Politics as Pretext”

December 9, 2019, 9:15 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Joshua Sellers has posted this draft on SSRN (Howard Law Journal). Here is the abstract: One of the more convoluted dilemmas in election law involves distinguishing government actions motivated by race from those motivated by partisanship. In this Essay, prepared… Continue reading

“House Passes Voting Rights Bill Despite Near Unanimous Republican Opposition”

December 8, 2019, 8:40 pmVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

NYT: The House voted on Friday to reinstate federal oversight of state election law, moving to bolster protections against racial discrimination enshrined in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the landmark civil rights statute whose central provision was struck down by… Continue reading

“House Votes to Restore the Voting Rights Act”

December 6, 2019, 10:03 amVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

Ari Berman: The House Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Committee held extensive hearings, including in states like Georgia and Texas, to document the need for a renewed Voting Rights Act. The bill passed the House on a largely … Continue reading

“Civil rights activists seek block on state’s voter ID law. Judge in Winston-Salem says she will decide quickly.”

December 4, 2019, 11:26 amvoter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Winston-Salem Journal: For the second time in four years, a version of North Carolina’s election law was in federal court, this time based on allegations that if enacted, black and Latino voters would be disenfranchised.Attorneys for the North Carolina NAACP… Continue reading

Ninth Circuit Panel, in Unpublished Opinion, Unanimously (and Briefly) Rejects Constitutional Challenge to California Voting Rights Act

December 4, 2019, 10:26 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can find the four page opinion here. This is a big deal. This is a major case brought by Ed Blum (who has brought us Shelby County, the Fisher affirmative action case, and others) and litigated by William… Continue reading

Native American Voting Rights Group Settles with Arizona Over Ballot Litigation

November 30, 2019, 3:57 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Turtle Talk: Here are the materials in Navajo Nation, et al. v. Reagan, et al. No. CV-18-08329-PCT-DWL (Ariz. D. Ct. 2019).The Amended Complaint sought:[D]eclaratory and injunctive relief, compelling the Defendants to (a) allow early voters who do not sign their… Continue reading

New Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Law Requiring Absentee Ballots to Arrive (Not Be Postmarked) by Election Day

November 26, 2019, 11:04 amabsentee ballots, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

The new lawsuit from Voto Latino and Priorities USA raises both constitutional and Voting Rights Act claims. Read the complaint.

House Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Elections Releases New Report on Voting Rights, “Voting Rights and Election Administration in the United States of America”

November 13, 2019, 7:30 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

The report is based upon numerous field hearings and extensively documents continued problems of voting rights in the United States, especially in jurisdictions formerly covered by section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

Ninth Circuit Panel Skeptical of Poway Resident’s Attack on California Voting Rights Act

November 6, 2019, 3:33 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

See this report from Courthouse News Service. Here is the oral argument video.

“Trial begins in challenge to congressional district map”

November 3, 2019, 5:57 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

AP: African Americans make up more than a quarter of Alabama’s voting age population.But only one of the state’s seven congressional districts is majority black.A federal judge on Monday will begin a trial in a lawsuit that contends Alabama should… Continue reading

City of Santa Monica Files Opening Brief in Its California Voting Rights Act Appeal

October 21, 2019, 5:06 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Pay attention to the constitutional avoidance arguments here.

“Pleasant Grove voting method changed to cumulative voting, according to approved settlement”

October 13, 2019, 8:01 pmalternative voting systems, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Al.com: A federal district judge approved a proposed settlement in the voting rights lawsuit between the Alabama NAACP, Pleasant Grove residents Eric Calhoun, and Jennifer Ford and the city of Pleasant Grove. The settlement changes the city’s election method… Continue reading