Governors’ races in ‘blue wall’ states carry high stakes for voting rights
Democratic party operatives and voting rights advocates are sounding the alarm about the potentially dire implications that three 2022 gubernatorial races hold for the 2024 elections writ large. In 2020, the swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania formed a so-called “blue wall” to help Joe Biden to victory over Donald Trump. All three of these states are currently led by Democratic governors, but their legislatures are dominated by the Republican party. Some voting rights advocates believe that the Democratic governors’ continued ability to
Judge to dismiss challenge to Arkansas legislative maps unless DOJ joins case
In what many are viewing as a dangerous precedent, a federal judge in an Arkansas district court has ruled that a challenge to potentially discriminatory election maps under article 2 of the Voting Rights Act (or VRA) can only go forward if the Attorney General of the United States joins the suit. A staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union says, “Until today, no court had ever questioned that private individuals may enforce their rights under the VRA.” Visit The Hill to learn moreImage Credit:
Voting rights tensions erupt again after San Juan County attorney alleges commissioners violated the law
Kelly Laws, Attorney of San Juan County, Utah has alleged that two of the county’s three commissioners violated the state’s Open and Public Meetings Act by receiving an email about redrawn school board districts from a private attorney. Commissioners Kenneth Maryboy and Willie Grayeyes make up the first Indigineous majority on the commission in San Juan County’s history. Their majority was formed in 2018 after county election maps were redrawn following a court’s finding that earlier maps had violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
California’s voters still do not reflect the diversity of its people, report says
A recent report from UCLA’s Luskin Center for History and Policy argues that voter access in California is still imbalanced enough that the diversity of the population is not represented at the polls. One major hurdle for citizens is the lack of translators available. Many counties provide little more for non-English speakers than Google translations on websites. The report recommends amplifying the reach and resources of grassroots activist groups dedicated to improving turnout among voters from disadvantaged demographics. Visit ABC 7 to learn moreImage Credit:
Memphis BLM founder Pamela Moses sentenced to 6 years for illegally voting
Pamela Moses, the 44 year-old founder of a Black Lives Matter chapter in Memphis, Tennessee, has been found guilty of registering to vote illegally and sentenced to six years of incarceration. Moses says that she had been led to believe by local officials that her voting rights had been restored in 2019, after losing them four years earlier due to a felony conviction. Judge Michael Ward disagreed, saying that Moses deliberately deceived the probation department. Visit The New York Post to learn moreImage Credit: Glendale