In the Courts Archives - Page 15 of 25 - Voting Integrity Institute

Kentucky Mayor, Husband Sentenced for Vote Buying

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WSAZ) -- The 69-year-old former mayor of Martin, Ky. was sentenced to 90 months in a federal prison. Ruth Robinson was sentenced Monday afternoon in U.S District Court in Pikeville. Earlier this year, Robinson was convicted on federal vote buying, civil rights violations, and social security charges in two separate cases. Robinson's husband, James "Red" Robinson, 64, was also sentenced Monday for his conviction in the vote buying case. He was sentenced to 40 months in a federal prison.

ACRU Staff2014-12-16T16:13:39+00:00December 16th, 2014|In the Courts, News|

Supreme Court Upholds Texas Voter ID Law

The Supreme Court allowed Texas to enforce its strict voter identification laws in the upcoming midterms on Oct. 18. The decision, which came at 5 a.m., was unsigned and contained no reasoning. The court rejected requests from the Obama administration and civil rights groups, refusing to re-impose an injunction against the law that was granted by a district court judge but lifted by the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 14. The law requires voters to present a photo ID at the polls before casting their ballot. Acceptable forms of ID include a Texas drivers license, a military ID, passport, or Texas gun license. All three female Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, publicly dissented from the decision.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00October 21st, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Arkansas Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter ID Law

In a ruling that could affect a key U.S. Senate race, the Arkansas Supreme Court on Wednesday declared the state's voter-identification law unconstitutional. The unanimous decision, which upheld a lower court, came just days before early balloting begins Monday for the Nov. 4 election. The justices ruled that Act 595, which required voters to show government-issued photo identification, "imposes a requirement that falls outside" the four qualifications outlined in the state constitution: A voter must be a U.S. citizen, an Arkansas resident, 18 years old and registered to vote. The constitutional qualifications "simply do not include any proof-of-identity requirement," the majority wrote in its 20-page opinion. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, was approved in April 2013 after the Republican-dominated Legislature overrode the veto of Gov. Mike Beebee, a Democrat.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00October 16th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Appeals Court Upholds Texas Voter ID Law

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday afternoon gave the state of Texas permission to enforce its strict voter ID law, finding that a federal judge's ruling last week barring the use of that law "substantially disrupts the election process . . . just nine days before early voting begins...next Monday." The three-judge panel commented that the Supreme Court "has repeatedly instructed courts to carefully consider the importance of preserving the status quo on the eve of an election." That was a controlling reason, it said, for permitting the law to govern voting in the remaining days before the November 4 election. Opponents on Tuesday immediately filed an application to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the law.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00October 15th, 2014|Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Supreme Court Upholds North Carolina Voting Law

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld North Carolina's new voting law, which cuts back on early voting and eliminates same-day registration. The ruling affects North Carolina, scene of a tight Senate race that could help decide which party wins control of that chamber for the final two years of President Obama's term. The justices reversed a federal appeals court's decision that would have allowed same-day registration and counted votes cast mistakenly in the wrong precincts. Those were among several other procedures eliminated by the state Legislature last year.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:30:15+00:00October 10th, 2014|Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Same-Day Registration|

Courts Strike Down Wisconsin, Texas Voter ID Laws

The U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday blocked Wisconsin from enforcing its strict voter identification law in November's election. By a 6-3 vote, the justices granted an emergency appeal from civil rights lawyers, who argued it was too late to put the rule into effect this year. Lawyers for the ACLU noted that the state had already sent out thousands of absentee ballots without mentioning the need for voters to return a copy of their photo identification. At nearly the same time, a federal judge in Texas struck down that state's new voter ID law on the grounds that it violated the constitutional right to vote and discriminated against racial minorities. Texas Atty. Gen. Gregg Abbott said the state would appeal. The Wisconsin and Texas cases were the two most closely watched tests of new voter rules this year. In both states, Republican-led legislatures sought to tighten the rules for voting and to require all registered voters who did not have a driver's license to obtain a photo ID card at a state motor vehicles office.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00October 10th, 2014|Absentee / Mail-in Voting, Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Appeals Court Upholds Wisconsin Voter ID Law

MADISON, Wis. - A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Wisconsin's requirement that voters show photo identification at the polls is constitutional, a decision that is not surprising after the court last month allowed for the law to be implemented while it considered the case. State elections officials are preparing for the photo ID law to be in effect for the Nov. 4 election, even as opponents continue their legal fight. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Advancement Project asked the U.S. Supreme Court last week to take emergency action and block the law. Opponents argue that requiring voters to show photo ID, a requirement that had, until recently, been on hold since a low-turnout February 2012 primary, will create chaos and confusion at the polls. But supporters say most people already have a valid ID and, if they don't, there is time to get one before the election. The opinion from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes a month before the election involving the closely watched race between Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who supports the law, and Democratic challenger Mary Burke. A lower court judge, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman, struck the law down as unconstitutional in April, saying it unfairly burdens poor and minority voters who may lack such identification. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen asked the 7th Circuit to overturn that ruling.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00October 7th, 2014|In the Courts, News, Voter ID|

Court’s Ohio Decision on Early Voting Could Affect Other States

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court delayed the start of early voting in Ohio on Sept. 27, a day before it was scheduled to begin, temporarily blocking a victory won by voting rights groups in lower courts. The decision has potential implications for other states, including Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas and Arkansas, where state efforts to tighten up voting procedures are opposed by civil rights groups who say they disproportionately affect minorities. Ohio's was the first of those cases to reach the high court, and the conservative majority blocked lower court rulings that would have jump-started early voting Tuesday. Their action, opposed by the court's four liberal justices, reversed a federal appeals court decision that had blocked the state from reducing early voting from 35 to 28 days. The lower court also had ordered the state to restore some evening and Sunday voting that the Legislature had eliminated. Those reductions remain in place as a result of the high court's order. The justices invited the state to seek a full ruling on the merits of the case. If that request is denied or the state loses in court, the expanded voting hours would be restored -- albeit too late for this year's election.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:26:46+00:00October 6th, 2014|Early Voting, In the Courts, News|

Federal Court Overturns Part of NC Voting Reforms

A federal appeals court granted a temporary order on Wednesday that will allow same-day registration and provisional ballots in this fall's North Carolina elections, but refused to intervene on changes that shortened the early voting period. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in Charlotte last Thursday in the case that came after the Republican-led N.C. General Assembly passed a series of changes in 2013. Supporters say the measures are intended to strengthen the integrity of elections. Those who sued to overturn the laws say the changes are unfair because they disproportionately hurt young voters and minorities. Wednesday's ruling means voters can register and vote on the same day during the in-person early voting period, Oct. 23-Nov. 1. The temporary order also allows voters to cast ballots even if they show up at the wrong precinct. All three of the judges who heard the arguments last week were appointed to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals by Democratic presidents.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:38:06+00:00October 1st, 2014|Early Voting, In the Courts, News, Same-Day Registration, Voter ID|

Court Lifts Stay on Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law

In a decision that has little substantive meaning, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an injunction against Wisconsin Voter ID that a lower court imposed. This was not a decision on the merits. It merely means that the 7th Circuit will allow voter ID to go into effect for the November elections absent the injunction being reimposed by the full 7th Circuit or United States Supreme Court. The other significant part of the decision is that it is predictive. It gives an indication what the 7th Circuit will decide in the appeal of the lower court's injunction. The left has been hailing the lower court opinion as providing a new architecture for attacking voter ID under the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act does not provide an easy fit with voter ID laws, largely because of an absence of proof that they were enacted with a discriminatory intent.

ACRU Staff2020-05-03T23:34:45+00:00September 15th, 2014|ACRU Commentary, In the Courts, Voter ID|

SUBSCRIBE