Voting Rights Act
In Selma, President Joe Biden vows to continue work on voting rights
President Joe Biden Sunday praised the courage of civil rights activists and condemned efforts to restrict voting and attack the election process in a speech commemorating the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. In his 20-minute address delivered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where a law enforcement posse attacked civil […]
Alabama case that could limit Voting Rights Act heard at U.S. Supreme Court
WASHINGTON – U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that challenges an Alabama redistricting map and could potentially eliminate remaining federal safeguards against racial gerrymandering. Voting rights advocates fear that the high court’s conservative majority will further weaken the Voting Rights Act, with implications for voters in states across the country. […]
Voting Rights Act is hanging by a thread; FL ruling may allow Supreme Court to cut it
In an exceedingly rare federal ruling striking down restrictions on voting that the GOP-dominated Florida Legislature approved last year, the state has effectively been placed on probation. In the March 31 ruling, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker struck down central provisions of that law, SB 90, approved at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis. […]
U.S. Senate blocks change in the filibuster for voting rights bills
WASHINGTON — Every Republican in the U.S. Senate and two Democrats on Wednesday night rejected a proposed change in the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, dealing a major blow to attempts in Congress to counter restrictive voting laws passed in the states. In a 48-52 vote, two Democrats — Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona […]
At MLK alma mater, Biden pitches Senate rule change to safeguard voting rights
ATLANTA — President Joe Biden called for an end to the Senate filibuster during a visit to Atlanta’s Morehouse College campus, arguing Senate Democrats can push past GOP opposition now blocking major voting rights legislation. The visit by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to Atlanta was the latest sign of Georgia’ central role as […]
Federal lawsuit seeks immediate change to congressional maps
As the Ohio Supreme Court weighs its decision on congressional and legislative redistricting, a group involved in a federal lawsuit wants to see the maps changed immediately. Parties suing the state accusing the Ohio Redistricting Commission and legislative leaders of ignoring racial data and federal anti-discrimination laws have asked a U.S. District Court to demand […]
Federal lawsuit accuses discrimination in congressional redistricting
Two Youngstown residents are accusing redistricting leaders of ignoring federal precedent and discriminating against Black voters in their new district maps. The Rev. Kenneth L. Simon and Helen Youngblood, both registered voters from Youngstown, filed a lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court saying the new congressional and legislative district maps need to be rejected and […]
State redistricting stumbles amidst familiar partisan infighting
WASHINGTON — New political maps will shape elections in state legislatures and Congress for a decade, but this year’s round of redistricting is already crumbling into partisanship and court challenges not just in Ohio, but multiple states. Hopes were high initially. Advocates in several states pushed measures over the last few years that they hoped […]
DOJ civil rights official urges Congress to act soon on voting rights
WASHINGTON — A top Justice Department official on Monday stressed the need for Congress to pass legislation named after the late Georgia civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis in order to protect voting rights across the United States. Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke told lawmakers that since a 2013 Supreme Court […]
U.S. Senate to try again on voting rights in September
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning to bring a comprehensive voting rights package to the Senate floor for a vote when the chamber returns from recess next month. Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Wednesday that the Senate will take up a compromise version of the voting and elections bill, S.1, known […]
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Arizona ban on ‘ballot harvesting’
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Arizona’s ban on third-party ballot collections, reversing the 9th Circuit’s ruling last year that the prohibition violated the Voting Rights Act and raising the bar on future voting rights lawsuits. In a 6-3 opinion, the high court ruled on Thursday that Arizona’s 2016 law doesn’t violate Section 2 of the Voting […]
Republicans push back against federal approval for changes in state voting laws
WASHINGTON — Republicans during a U.S. House Judiciary panel hearing on Tuesday argued that a bill that would reinstate a preclearance section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act is unnecessary because there is no discrimination in voting. The top Republican on the panel, Rep. Mike Johnson, (R-La.), said that the legislation is not needed and […]