GRAHAM, N.C. – Five voters represented by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) charged with voting while ineligible accepted plea deals to lesser charges in Alamance County Superior Court today. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped all felony voting-related charges. SCSJ clients Anthony Haith, Neko Rogers, Whitney Brown, Keith Sellars and Willie Vinson, […]
RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina General Assembly today passed House Bill 3, Ballot Designations/Referenda, during a hastily called special legislative session. If the measure becomes law, the Constitutional Amendments Publication Commission will lose its well-established authority to draft short captions that would appear on November’s ballot for every North Carolina voter describing six proposed […]
Most of the court-ordered plan that includes Special Master’s districts to remain in place WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court issued a per curiam decision today, largely affirming a lower court’s ruling in North Carolina v. Covington and upholding most of the court-ordered map with some districts redrawn by a Special Master. The court requested recommendations from a Special […]
WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court issued opinions on June 18, 2018, in two partisan gerrymandering cases, Gill v. Whitford (Wisconsin) and Besinek v. Lamone (Maryland). The Wisconsin case has been sent back down to the district court to reconsider issues related to standing. The ruling in the Maryland case affirmed the denial of […]
On June 8, 2018, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed motions to dismiss on behalf of five clients in Alamance County who were charged with voting while being ineligible due to a criminal conviction. In our the motions, SCSJ asks the court to recognize the unconstitutionality of the criminal statute that allows the state […]
RALEIGH, N.C. – On June 7, 2018, North Carolina Speaker of the House Rep. Tim Moore introduced HB 1092, a constitutional amendment that would require voters in the state to present photo identification before voting. If the legislation passes both chambers of the General Assembly by a three-fifths margin, the amendment would go on the November ballot. […]
WASHINGTON – Plaintiffs in North Carolina’s partisan gerrymandering challenge, League of Women Voters of North Carolina v. Rucho, filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court today asking the court to affirm the lower court’s ruling that found the entire state’s plan to be an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. In February, the Supreme Court denied expedited briefing in […]
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice hit a milestone this week. Allison Riggs, our Senior Voting Rights Attorney, argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Abbott v. Perez is a redistricting case out of Texas where voters of color were either packed or cracked into districts to minimize their political power. It was wrong. […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, dustin@scsj.org, 919.323.4051 Mackenzie Long, mlong@wearerally.com, 916.524.3197 Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia Voter intimidation violates Ku Klux Klan Act, created in 1871 to protect voters from being harassed when attempting to register or vote ALEXANDRIA, VA – Voters subjected […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2018 Contact: Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, dustin@scsj.org, 919.323.4051 Mackenzie Long, mlong@wearerally.com, 916.524.3197 Voters File Federal Court Challenge to Voter Intimidation Efforts in Virginia Voter intimidation violates Ku Klux Klan Act, created in 1871 to protect voters from being harassed when attempting to register or vote ALEXANDRIA, VA – Voters subjected […]