voting rights
-
Report Finds North Carolina Threw Out Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots at Twice the Rate of White Voters in 2018
Voter suppression isn’t a new phenomenon. But as the country lurches toward a November election in which President Donald Trump has flatly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose, concerns over the integrity of the voting process are as high as they’ve ever been. Adding to those concerns is a…
-
Texas Supreme Court Halts Applications for Mail-In Ballots in Harris County (Again)
A legal back and forth is underway in Texas, as the state’s Supreme Court has halted mail-in ballot applications from being sent out in Harris County. According to the Texas Tribune, the all-Republican court granted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to halt the effort before a separate order blocking applications from being sent out…
-
Federal Appeals Court Packed With Trump Appointees Rules That Former Felons in Florida Have to Pay Fees to Vote
A groundbreaking constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to about 775,000 people with former felonies in Florida has been devastatingly undercut by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled on Friday that the would-be voters must pay all fines and fees they may owe to the state if they want to go to…
-
Tennessee Passes Law That Would Punish Protestors By Taking Away Their Right to Vote
Republican lawmakers and a Republican governor have green-lit a new law in Tennessee that makes it possible for people to have their voting rights revoked as punishment for participating in protests. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the measure into law last week after a special three-day legislative session, reports AP. Under the new law, demonstrators…
-
Trump Bragged About Low Black Voter Turnout, Disparaged John Lewis in Meeting With Black 'Leaders' in 2017
New details have emerged from a meeting of so-called leaders in the Black community and then President-elect Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2017. Audio obtained by The Independent reveals that during the meeting —which was attended by Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights icon—Trump made…
-
It Cost Me $64 to Vote in the Georgia Primary Elections
I am a 23-year-old Black man from Cobb County, Georgia, and it cost me $64 to vote in the Georgia primary elections. Let me explain. As a recent college graduate working out-of-state before starting law school, I have been voting by absentee ballot since 2016. Until this year, I had encountered few issues in casting…
-
On the 19th Amendment's Centennial, Michelle Obama Urges Us to Honor Women's Work in Securing the Vote
Just like our forever First Lady Michelle Obama, we are not going to stop talking about the importance of voting this election cycle—no matter how unenthused you might be. While there were many factors that led to the outcome of what we’d feared would be a disastrous 2016 election (Electoral College, we’re looking at you),…
-
In the Aftermath of Black Women's Equal Pay Day, Let's Consider How Our Votes Impact Our Paychecks
Black women are well known as the backbone of our democracy—and, as of this week, a Black (and Asian) woman could well be on her way to making history as our country’s next vice president. As one of the most active voting blocs in America (h/t Center for American Progress), Black women are already well…
-
40,000 Former Inmates in Iowa Have Their Voting Rights Restored After Governor Signs Executive Order
On Wednesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed an executive order that immediately restored voting rights to former inmates who have completed their sentences. According to NBC News, this move means Iowa is no longer the only state to permanently disenfranchise former inmates. Approximately 40,000 former inmates who have completed their prison sentences, probation and parole…