New York judge strikes down NYC law granting voting rights to noncitizens
A NY State Supreme Court judge has invalidated a law passed by the New York City Council which would have allowed authorized noncitizen residents to vote in municipal elections. The judge ruled that the city council did not have the authority to expand the franchise in this direction, since the language of the state constitution requires a person to have US citizenship to vote. In order to change the constitution, an amendment would need to be passed through a referendum approved by the voters
Supreme Court paves way for DOJ to subpoena Texas lawmakers in Voting Rights Act challenge to redistricting maps
The US Supreme Court has rejected a request to vacate subpoenas of three Texas state legislators. By allowing the subpoenas to stand, the nations’ highest court has eased the path for the US Department of Justice to prosecute its case that Texas lawmakers violated Title 2 of the Voting Rights Act and illegally disadvantaged voters of color when they redrew the state’s election maps. Visit CNN to learn moreImage Credit: Coolcaesar(CC BY-SA 3.0)
House Democrats call on Justice Department to address ‘insider threats’ posed by candidates who believe false election fraud claims
Over a dozen Democrats in the US House of Representatives have signed their names to a letter urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to take stronger steps to defend against possible “insider threats” to the security and integrity of future elections. The letter reports that, "Unfortunately, many of the candidates seeking to fill newly vacated state and local election posts support former President Trump's false claim that the 2020 election was stolen…" Concerned that such candidates may abuse their powers if elected, the letter urges
Harris calls for voting rights legislation before walking across Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday anniversary
On the 57th Anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” Vice President Kamala Harris called, yet again, for passage of voting rights reform on the federal level. “Bloody Sunday” is the name given to the attempt of more than 600 voting rights advocates to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge into Selma, Alabama in 1965, only to be beaten brutally back by state and local authorities. Visiting the famed site in person, Vice President Harris referred to recent restrictive, GOP-authored, election laws on the state level as “un-American.”
Voting rights groups urge Supreme Court to let order for redrawn Alabama congressional map stand
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy group for voting rights, is urging the US Supreme Court to uphold the ruling of a lower court which found that the state of Alabama must redraw its congressional districts. A panel of 3 federal judges - including two Trump appointees - found that the newly drawn map was in violation of section 2 of the Voting Rights Acts, which bans racial discrimination in elections, because the new map’s district lines make it difficult or impossible for