All States

An Even More Cynical Form of Gerrymandering for Connecticut

Election Law Society · April 9, 2019 ·

By: Sarah Crowe

In a lawsuit being touted as the “first of its kind”, Connecticut was hit with a federal lawsuit in late June 2018 with the aim of ending the practice of prison gerrymandering. According to the NAACP, prison gerrymandering is “the practice of counting prisoners in the towns where they are incarcerated, rather than at their pre-incarceration address, for the purposes of drawing state legislative district lines. The inmate population in Connecticut is a largely African American and Latino population, and these prisoners disproportionately come from urban centers. The prisons in Connecticut, however, are almost all in rural areas. Though many prisoners have lost their voting rights due to felony convictions, they are still counted as residents where they are incarcerated, inflating the votes of those who live in the rural areas near prisons, who are predominately white.

The Sunshine State’s Cloudy History of Returning Citizen Disenfranchisement

Election Law Society · April 8, 2019 ·

By: Shawn Syed

When Florida Amendment 4 passed by ballot initiative on November 6, 2018, voting rights advocates rejoiced. A hard-fought battle resulted in Floridians approving the measure with 64.55% of voters in favor of the Amendment. Amendment 4, or the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, was designed to automatically restore the right to vote for people with prior felony convictions upon completion of their sentences. The Amendment excluded those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses. The battle for felon re-enfranchisement in Florida did not start with Amendment 4. Unfortunately, it also did not end with Amendment 4.

2018 Elections: Controversy in Ohio

Election Law Society · April 3, 2019 ·

By: Emma McCarthy

For voters in the state of Ohio, the 2018 Election held in the balance the future of the state’s governance. With major state offices including the Governorship, Secretary of State, and Attorney General all up for grabs, every vote mattered as the next four years of state governance in Ohio was in question. That’s one of the reasons why, on November 6^th, the Campaign Legal Center, MacArthur Justice Center, and think tank Demos filed an emergency lawsuit and temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, asking the court to require state officials to inform individuals currently jailed about their right to case an absentee ballot. In Ohio, absentee ballot requests were due November 2^nd, leaving any individual jailed after that time without ability to exercise their right to vote. Therefore, the suit was filed to in order to compel the state to deliver ballots to those individuals jailed, giving them the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

The Legacy of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act

Election Law Society · April 1, 2019 ·

By: Yang Cao

Although the Supreme Court has made section 5 of the Voting Rights Act essentially ineffective by declaring section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, the legacy of section 5 remains. The non-retrogression standard of section 5 is unsuitable to the current political situation of the United States and it has created problems in the past that continue to impact the United States today.

Virginia Midterms are Over, but Legal Case on Forged Signatures in 2nd Congressional District Continues On

Election Law Society · March 27, 2019 ·

By: Chelsea West

Elaine Luria, a Democrat, has defeated Republican Congressman Scott W. Taylor in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Luria captured 51.1 percent of the vote, followed by Taylor with 48.9 percent. Taylor has represented the district in the House since 2017.

Despite the race being over, a legal case against Taylor’s campaign looms large. A public news station in Norfolk, Va. first reported in August 2018 that Taylor’s campaign was engaging in the underhanded practice of helping a rival qualify for the ballot to split potential opposition votes. According to documents filed with the FEC and the Virginia Department of Elections, workers on Taylor’s campaign collected hundreds of signatures to put an independent candidate in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District election.