Search Results for: VRA

The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Monday ruled against a tool often used to enforce voter protections, finding that private groups and individuals are not permitted to bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibits race-based voter suppression. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by [...]

READ MORE

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed last week a lower court’s finding that redistricting efforts by Texas’ Galveston County constituted racial gerrymandering, but raised concerns over whether the legal precedent underlying the decision complied with the legislative intent of the US Voting Rights Act (VRA). Between 1991 and 2021, Galveston County [...]

READ MORE

Colorado Governor Jared Polis Friday signed a bill allowing those who have been convicted of a crime access to post-conviction DNA testing. The bill was supported and fully approved by both Houses in February 2023. Moreover, the bill will lower the threshold for individuals to seek DNA testing of evidence to mitigate the criminal justice [...]

READ MORE

The North Carolina Supreme Court Friday struck down a gerrymandered legislative district map unconstitutional under the North Carolina state constitution. In August 2021, North Carolina’s General Assembly released its proposed redistricting criteria. The proposed criteria mandated a race-blind approach to redistricting and was criticized for not complying with the Voter Rights Act (VRA). In November [...]

READ MORE

The US Supreme Court Tuesday heard oral arguments in Merrill v. Milligan to determine whether Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for the US House of Representatives violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The lawsuit first arose back in November 2021 when Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed the congressional plan allowing one majority Black [...]

READ MORE

The US Supreme Court Wednesday reversed a decision by Wisconsin’s Supreme Court selecting state legislative districts drawn by the governor while also allowing the use of the governor’s congressional district map. The 2020 census revealed population shifts that necessitated redrawing Wisconsin’s election maps. The Republican-dominated legislature proposed new maps, which were vetoed by Democratic Governor [...]

READ MORE

The US Supreme Court reinstated Alabama’s new congressional map Monday, which had previously been blocked by a lower court for violating § 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). In November 2021, two lawsuits were filed challenging the congressional map on the grounds that the map unlawfully dilutes African-American voting strength because the map has [...]

READ MORE

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Georgia, claiming that the state’s newly-drawn state House and Senate districts disadvantage Black voters. The complaint notes that Georgia is one of the fastest growing states in the nation, with much of that growth driven by an increase in the Black population which [...]

READ MORE