AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A federal appeals court declared that Texas' strict 2011 voter ID law has a "discriminatory effect" on minorities and violates the Voting Rights Act. But the three-judge panel's unanimous, 49-page decision also overturned a lower court's previous assertion that the law amounted to an unconstitutional "poll tax." Here's a closer look at the Wednesday ruling, the law and where the case stands now.
The Supreme Court has an opportunity to determine whether only [...]
ALEXANDRIA, VA --- The on July 27 filed a complaint in federal court against another Mississippi county that has corrupted and inflated voter registrations. Voter rolls maintained by Clarke County actually contain more people registered to vote than citizens eligible to vote. The complaint argues that Clarke County's election commission is violating Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Hattiesburg Division. "Clarke County has had longstanding problems maintaining plausible numbers of registrants on the rolls," the complaint filed against the Clarke County Election Commission says. "During the 2010 federal general election, over 101 percent of living citizens eligible to vote in Clarke County were registered to vote." ACRU's review of databases revealed that as of 2015, more than 100 percent of Clarke's voting-eligible citizens were registered. This strongly indicates the county has failed to purge the names of people who had died, moved away or been convicted of disenfranchising felonies.
The has filed a federal lawsuit against Clarke County claiming the county has more voters on its rolls than living citizens of voting age. The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Mississippi against the Clarke County Election Commission. The lawsuit says: "Voter rolls maintained by the Defendant for Clarke County contain more voters registered to vote than citizens eligible to vote. In March 2015... Clarke County, Mississippi had 12,646 registered voters, despite having a voting age population of only 12,549 according to the United States Census. More than 100 percent of living citizens old enough to vote were registered to vote in Clarke County in 2015." The lawsuit alleges that the Election Commission has failed to provide required maintenance of the county's voting rolls. Clarke County Circuit Clerk Beth Jordan said the county is in the process, along with the Board of Supervisors attorney, of working with the ACRU to address voter rolls problems or concerns.
ALEXANDRIA, VA — The on July 27, 2015 filed a [...]
RALEIGH, N.C. - Changes to North Carolina's voting access rules finally went to trial this week. A judge ultimately will determine whether Republican legislators illegally diminished the opportunity for minorities to participate in the political process or acted to protect election integrity. The U.S. Justice Department, voting and civil rights groups and individuals sued soon after the General Assembly approved an elections overhaul law in summer 2013. After interim arguments reached the U.S. Supreme Court last fall, the trial began Monday and is expected to last two to three weeks addresses the crux of the allegations. Attorneys representing those who sued contend the restrictions violate the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution by throwing up large electoral obstacles to minority voters historically subjected to racial bias and should be thrown out. Attorneys for the state and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who signed the law, say there's no evidence the law will diminish the ability of black citizens to elect who they want representing them. None of the restrictions are barred by the Constitution, according to a brief previewing their case, and black voter participation increased during the 2014 elections -- when changes were first implemented -- compared to the 2010 elections.
In June 2015, the ACRU filed a Freedom of Information [...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2015) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to states giving more political power to areas with high illegal alien populations. In a brief filed in March, the (ACRU) argued that Texas and a U.S. District Court erred in approving state senate districts based on "total population" rather than on eligible citizen voters. "Total population" includes illegal aliens. Counting non-voters, including illegal aliens, when assessing the size of senate districts, gives citizens living in areas with high numbers of illegal aliens more senate seats than areas with mostly U.S. citizens, the ACRU says in the brief, filed on behalf of the plaintiffs in Evenwel and Pfenninger v. Abbott et al. The ACRU brief notes that even the United States Department of Justice uses only citizen population in allocating legislative seats in redistricting litigation. "The current Texas method violates the one-man, one-vote concept that ensures fair elections," said ACRU President Susan A. Carleson. "We're pleased that the Court is taking the case."
CONCORD, N.H. --The New Hampshire Supreme Court on May 15 upheld a lower court ruling that struck down a 2012 voter registration law, saying language that links voting to getting a driver's license is unconstitutional and could discourage some people from casting ballots. The court, in a unanimous decision, said because the language is confusing and inaccurate, and because it could cause an otherwise qualified voter not to register to vote in New Hampshire, "the burden it imposes upon the fundamental right to vote is unreasonable."
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 21, 2015) – Non-citizens are registering to [...]