voting rights
August 25, 2016 -
North Carolina is fighting to end voter preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds. The program increased youth turnout and was disproportionately used by African Americans and Latinos, but state lawmakers have claimed — without offering any evidence — that it risks confusing voters.
August 19, 2016 -
A coalition seeking to curb the political influence of Big Money in Florida's Miami-Dade County collected more than the required number of signatures to put their reform initiative on the ballot in November, but county officials have been blocking the effort.
August 12, 2016 -
With recent court rulings finding that voter discrimination is a real and present danger, voting rights advocates are pressing the case for hearings on legislation to restore the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act.
August 5, 2016 -
Recent legal victories over voting restrictions in North Carolina and other states point to the danger in being ahistorical when passing voting laws. Particularly in the South, where discrimination has deep roots, it is necessary to remember past discrimination when crafting present-day legislation.
August 4, 2016 -
In the past few weeks, courts nationwide have struck down a number of Republican-engineered voting restrictions — including a North Carolina law considered the single biggest rollback of voting rights since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.
July 15, 2016 -
A new report from the State Innovative Exchange details progressive achievements in state policy nationwide. Despite Republican control of most legislative chambers and governors' mansions in the South, eight states in the region enacted policies that increase access to voting and health care and improve job prospects for ex-offenders.
June 24, 2016 -
This week marks the three-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. As a consequence, most states across the South will have restrictive new voting laws in place for the first time in a presidential contest. Could they tip the outcome?