state constitutions

June 22, 2022 - Soon Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) will have appointed a majority of justices on his state's Supreme Court, just as it considers striking down precedents guaranteeing abortion rights. He's considering a judge who'd bring to the court sorely needed gender and racial diversity — but not ideological diversity.

October 28, 2021 - Families in resource-starved public school districts have filed lawsuits challenging unequal education funding, and three pending cases in Southern states seek to compel reluctant legislatures to provide more money for poorer districts. Republicans in North Carolina are now discussing impeaching judges who've ordered them to take action.

May 21, 2021 - Republican state legislators across the South are making it harder for voters to cast a ballot. Voting rights groups and local officials are suing over the changes, which they argue will disparately impact voters of color and those with disabilities. But the judges with the final say are mostly Republicans.

September 16, 2020 - In a lawsuit filed by the state NAACP over constitutional amendments passed by a legislature that federal courts found to be racially gerrymandered, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled to uphold them, reversing a lower court's decision. The group is now taking the case to the state Supreme Court.

September 9, 2020 - High courts in Arkansas and Florida have blocked ballot measures that would have required nonpartisan redistricting and banned assault weapons. The courts cited new laws that raise the bar for citizens to put constitutional amendments on the ballot.

July 9, 2020 - States across the country require people with felony convictions to purchase their voting rights back if they ever want to cast a ballot again. It is a mechanism that felony disenfranchisement schemes increasingly rely upon, and it marks a return to the sordid tactics of Jim Crow.

December 18, 2019 - Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointments have transformed the Florida Supreme Court, which will soon review nine constitutional amendments — including a $15 minimum wage — that were proposed by citizens.