LOS ANGELES – In a 2-1 decision, a federal court of appeals panel today ruled that private parties do not have the ability to sue under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). The decision came in a case out of Arkansas and will apply in the eight states in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Voting Rights
TIMELINE OF TEXAS’S VOTER SUPPRESSION LEGISLATION SB1
Following the 2020 Presidential election dozens of states began passing bills with provisions that restricted voting rights. Texas was one of those states. The voter suppression legislation known as SB1 imposes new ID requirements on elderly and disabled mail voters, prevents election officials from reigning in unruly partisan poll watchers, limits community-based voter outreach, and makes it more difficult for voters to use the assister of their choice.
Federal Court Blocks Washington State’s Discriminatory Maps That Denied Latino Voters in Yakima Valley an Equal Voice
MALDEF STATEMENT ON HOW SUPREME COURT REDISTRICTING RULING WILL AFFECT TEXAS CHALLENGE
MALDEF REACHES AGREEMENT WITH ILLINOIS REGARDING FEES IN LEGISLATIVE MAPS LAWSUIT
CHICAGO – A Latino civil rights organization has reached a settlement regarding attorney’s fees in a lawsuit against Illinois state election officials and leaders of the state legislature over the use of redistricting plans that relied on population estimates rather than 2020 Census data, according to papers filed in federal court last week.
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP SUES ARIZONA OVER VOTER PURGE LAW
FEDERAL COURT RULES ARKANSAS STATUTE ON VOTER ASSISTANCE VIOLATES FEDERAL VRA
TEXAS MUST TURN OVER RECORDS OF STATE VOTING PURGE PROGRAM TO VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS CHALLENGE MISSOURI VOTING RESTRICTIONS IN COURT
VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS SUE TEXAS FOR FAILURE TO DISCLOSE RECORDS RELATED TO VOTER PURGES
AUSTIN, TEXAS – Today, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas (ACLU Texas), Campaign Legal Center (CLC), DĒMOS, and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to order Texas’ Secretary of State to produce records responsive to their previous requests seeking information about a state program that threatens to remove naturalized citizens from the voter rolls.
VOTING RIGHTS GROUPS CHALLENGE WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING PLAN
MALDEF STATEMENT ON RULING IN ILLINOIS REDISTRICTING LAWSUIT
FEDERAL COURT SENDS ILLINOIS REDISTRICTING MAPS TO REMEDIAL PROCEEDINGS
CHICAGO – A federal court ruled today that state legislative redistricting plans adopted by the Illinois General Assembly and signed on June 4 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are malapportioned and unconstitutional. The decision will lead to the federal court reviewing and adopting new maps to be used in the state.