Category Archives: Voting Rights Act

“How a Defunct Federal Provision Helped Pave the Way for New Voting Restrictions”

August 28, 2021, 2:46 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: Georgia toughened identification requirements for absentee voting. Arizona authorized removing voters from the rolls if they do not cast a ballot at least once every two years. Florida and Georgia cut back sharply the use of drop boxes for… Continue reading

“Election Laws Disproportionately Disadvantaging Racial Minorities, and the Futility of Trying to Solve Today’s Problems with Yesterday’s Never Very Good Tools”

August 25, 2021, 10:10 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Gary Simson has posted this draft on SSRN (Emory Law Journal). Here is the abstract: In the final weeks leading up to the 2020 national election, scarcely a day seemed to pass without news of a challenge to, or court… Continue reading

“Some Good News on State Voting Rights Bills”

August 25, 2021, 9:21 amvoting, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

New from SightLine.

“House Passes a Voting Rights Bill, but a G.O.P. Blockade Awaits in the Senate”

August 24, 2021, 5:08 pmThe Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

NYT: The House voted on Tuesday to restore federal oversight of state election laws under the 1965 Voting Rights Act and expand its reach, as Democrats moved to strengthen a crowning legislative achievement of the civil rights era amid a… Continue reading

“Racial Disparities in Voting Wait Times: Evidence from Smartphone Data” (“residents of entirely-black neighborhoods waited 29% longer to vote and were 74% more likely to spend more than 30 minutes at their polling place”)

August 23, 2021, 3:10 pmVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

New draft paper from M. Keith Chen, Kareem Haggag, Devin G. Pope, and Ryne Rohla. Abstract: Equal access to voting is a core feature of democratic government. Using data from hundreds of thousands of smartphone users, we quantify a racial… Continue reading

“Racial Turnout Gap Grew in Jurisdictions Previously Covered by the Voting Rights Act”

August 23, 2021, 1:56 pmSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Brennan Center analysis: While in 2012, just before the Shelby County decision, the white-Black turnout gap was shrinking in the states we analyzed, and in many instances even briefly closed, this trend has reversed in the years since. In… Continue reading

“Federalizing the Voting Rights Act”

August 23, 2021, 6:43 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Travis Crum has posted this draft on SSRN (Vanderbilt L Rev Online). Here is the abstract: In Presidential Control of Elections, Professor Lisa Marshall Manheim masterfully canvasses how “a president can affect the rules of elections that purport to hold… Continue reading

I Spoke with the Legal Talk Today Podcast About the Voting Rights Act and New Restrictive Voting Rules

August 22, 2021, 8:44 amThe Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

You can listen here.

Nationwide preclearance of existing voter identification laws in the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

August 20, 2021, 1:36 pmVoting Rights ActDerek Muller

Travis and Nick had helpful summaries and thoughts of the major components of H.R. 4, the John L. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. I wanted to highlight one interesting change from the 2019 edition of the VRAA, the scope of… Continue reading

“House Democrats introduce a bill to beef up the Voting Rights Act.”

August 18, 2021, 7:08 amVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

NYT: Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a long-awaited linchpin of their drive to protect voting rights, introducing legislation that would make it easier for the federal government to block state election rules found to be discriminatory to nonwhite voters.House leaders expect… Continue reading

Travis Crum: “Revising Sections 2 and 5 in the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021”

August 17, 2021, 8:25 pmVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

The following is a very helpful guest post from Travis Crum: Following months of anticipation, Democrats in Congress unveiled the newest version of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA). In this post, I’ll highlight major portions… Continue reading

“On voting rights, Chief Justice Roberts is far from a moderating voice”

August 16, 2021, 6:36 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Boston Globe reports.

Hearing Monday at 10 am ET: “Oversight of the Voting Rights Act: Potential Legislative Reforms”

August 16, 2021, 6:21 amVoting Rights Act, VRAARick Hasen

Over at the House Judiciary Committee.

“Dems plot last-ditch voting rights push as midterm clock ticks”

August 12, 2021, 5:39 amlegislation and legislatures, Voting Rights ActDerek Muller

Politico: Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are preparing to take one more big swing at voting rights. They may end up hitting their base with a huge letdown.The House will return to Washington later this month to vote on… Continue reading

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