For four decades, the Lawyers' Committee has been at the forefront of the legal struggle to secure racial justice and equal access to the electoral process for all voters. Working with the Lawyers’ Committee’s pro bono structure, the Voting Rights Project and the National Campaign for Fair Elections integrates a comprehensive litigation program to strategically address the obstacles voters face throughout the electoral process.
The Supreme Court Should Not Uphold the Modern Day Poll Tax
Today the Supreme Court heard argument in two consolidated challenges to an Indiana law that requires in-person voters to show government-issued photo identification in order to vote. It is difficult to determine what a majority of the Supreme Court will decide in this matter. We can only hope that the Court will recognize the importance of the fundamental right to vote, as it did in finding the poll tax unconstitutional decades ago. Indiana's modern-day poll tax is just as wrong.
Lawyers’ Committee Protects Vote in MD
Organizations filed suit in state court in Maryland requesting an extended deadline for postmarking absentee ballots.
Disappointing Decision for Voters in AZ
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the order preventing enforcement of Arizona's photo ID law.
Lawyers’ Committee Defends Voting Rights Act
The NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, and Wilmer Hale, LLP have joined in a defense of the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
9th Circuit Denies Motion to Reconsider AZ ID
The 9th Circuit denied the motion to reconsider last week's ruling in the Arizona photo ID lawsuit. Proposition 200 will not be enforced for the November elections.
Victory for Naturalized Citizens in Ohio
Today, Judge Boyko of the U.S. Dictrict Court for the Northern District of Ohio found that an Ohio voter challenger law that treats naturalized citizens differently than native-born citizens is unconstitutional.
Amicus brief filed for Missouri state ID case
The Lawyers' Committee and other organizations filed an Amicus brief in Weinscheck v. Missouri, the state voter ID case, in support of the Circuit Court's decision to enjoin Missouri's law requiring voters to present photo ID at the polls.
Georgia case stayed until state case resolved
Defendants in Lake v. Purdue, the photo ID case in Georgia state court, filed a motion to stay Common Cause v. Billups, the federal case until a decision is reached by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Motion filed to stop photo ID in Missouri
Advocates filed a motion in federal court today, seeking a preliminary injunction in NAACP v. Carnahan.
MD Judge Rules in Favor of Lawyers’ Committee Lawsuit to Keep Polls Open Later
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights won a lawsuit today that will extend polling place hours in Baltimore to 9:00 p.m.
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