Elections and Voting
May 20, 2015 -
Last week Florida became the latest among 28 states that now or will soon offer statewide online voter registration. Evidence shows such systems are less prone to fraud, more cost-effective and popular among voters and elections officials alike.
May 15, 2015 -
Revelations that voter registration applications initiated at public assistance agencies in North Carolina have dropped off dramatically under Gov. Pat McCrory (R) have alarmed voting rights advocates. They're now seeking more information to determine whether the state is flouting federal law.
May 15, 2015 -
Diana Roberts of Charlotte, North Carolina battled the odds to become a U.S. citizen and looked forward to voting in last year's elections. But her dream was crushed after the state wrongly flagged her as a non-citizen.
April 23, 2015 -
The U.S. Supreme Court sent North Carolina's redistricting challenge back to the state's high court this week, asking it to reconsider whether the legislature relied too heavily on race in drawing voting lines. The decision comes following similar rulings in cases out of Alabama and Virginia, offering hope for an end to racial gerrymandering.
March 20, 2015 -
Passed after the infamous "Bloody Sunday" attack on civil rights protesters in Alabama in 1965, the Voting Rights Act successfully blocked hundreds of potentially discriminatory election changes -- until the Supreme Court struck down a key provision in 2013. There's an effort underway in Congress to fix the hobbled law, but what are its chances of passing?
March 20, 2015 -
The Voting Rights Act, which protects minorities' right to vote, also ensures that limited English proficient voters can fully participate in elections. Enforcing those measures will be critical as the South's language minority population grows.
March 20, 2015 -
Fifty years after the Voting Rights Act was introduced in Congress with bipartisan support, House lawmakers are trying to restore a key part of the law that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013. Just one Southern Republican is on board so far: Rep. Carlos Curbelo of South Florida.