The clock is ticking. With just four months until Election Day, we’re fighting to stop four voter suppression measures that would keep Americans from casting their ballots.
For those keeping track at home, and for those of you who aren’t in the know yet, here’s an update:
North Carolina. North Carolina’s sweeping voter suppression law, among other things, cuts early voting, bans same-day registration, and prohibits the counting of ballots cast at the wrong precinct. The ACLU and co-counsel, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, filed suit against this voter suppression, and on May 19 filed a motion to stop the law before the November election. A hearing on our motion is scheduled in federal court in North Carolina on July 7.
Arkansas. On April 24, the ACLU of Arkansas won a court order ruling that Arkansas’ strict voter ID law violates the Arkansas Constitution. The trial court, however, halted the decision, permitting the ID law to go into effect for the primary elections. That meant nearly 1,000 voters were disenfranchised. On June 24, the ACLU filed a motion with the trial court to lift the stay, and block the ID law for the November election. Meanwhile, the case is headed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Kansas. The ACLU is challenging Kansas’s dual registration system, which segregates voters into two separate and unequal classes: those who can vote in all elections (who need to show a photo ID when they vote), and those who can vote for federal offices only. On June 27, we filed a motion to stop this illegal system, as a violation of Kansas law. A hearing on our motion is scheduled for July 11 in Topeka.
Ohio. The ACLU is challenging Ohio’s elimination of a week of early voting, evening voting hours, all but one Sunday of early voting, and same-day registration. Yesterday we filed our motion in federal court to stop these cutbacks before the November elections.
In other summer voter suppression news, our successful challenge to Iowa’s unlawful voter purge program is on appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. Meanwhile, our successful challenge striking down Wisconsin’s voter ID law is on appeal this summer in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
We need to end these dangerous voter suppression measures before Election Day. For more information about the ACLU’s fight against voter suppression, go to https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights.
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