Redistricting Race Rules

If Voting Rights Had A Flavor, What Would It Be?

By EditorMay 15, 2016

North Carolina - Find out on May 17 when Ben & Jerry's along with the North Carolina NAACP unveil this new voting rights inspired ice cream flavor. The unveiling, part of new voting rights campaign is scheduled to take place on the campus of North Carolina Central University in Durham at 11 a.m. Any guesses?

Redistricting Race RulesBen & Jerrys, NAACP, North Carolina

Federal Panel Rejects Two North Carolina Congressional Districts

By EditorFeb 08, 2016

North Carolina - A federal court panel ruled late Friday that two of North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts were racially gerrymandered and must be redrawn within two weeks, sparking uncertainty about whether the March primary elections can proceed as planned. An order from a three-judge panel bars elections in North Carolina’s 1st and 12th congressional districts until new maps are approved. Read More.

Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race RulesNorth Carolina

Augusta City Election Officials Perplexed at Running Elections Without DOJ Supervision

By EditorJan 28, 2016

In this local news story, election officials in Augusta City, GA remain befuddled about how to proceed with elections without having to report to the Justice Dept. on their every move. Apparently, the preclearance process has become such an institution in the city, official are at a loss on how to proceed. https://youtu.be/-LCuc1lRx8M

Local Redistricting, Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rulesaugusta city, Georgia, local

PODCAST: Georgetown Public Policy Review Talks Voting Rights in 2016

By EditorJan 27, 2016

From the Georgetown of Politics and Public Service, IPPS fellow Buffy Wicks, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Ari Berman, reporter for The Nation join Georgetown Public Policy Review executive media editor Matt Emeterio to discuss the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, recent changes restricting access to the ballot, and what will happen with voting rights in the 2016 election. Listen to the podcast below. https://soundcloud.com/gppolicyreview/episode-5-voting-rights

Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rules, REFORMGeorgetown Public Policy Review, lawid

U.S. Supreme Court: Shelby County Cannot Recoup Attorney Fees for Winning Landmark Voting Rights Case

By EditorJan 25, 2016

Today the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Shelby County, Alabama. It means that Shelby is stuck with the $2 million bill for winning its landmark case against the Voting Rights Act. It had filed a petition to recover its attorneys fees, which is allowed under the Act but a lower court denied the claim and the Supreme Court agreed. The lower court ruled on the basis that the litigation did not advance the law's anti-discriminatory purpose. Read the NYT article here.

LAW, NEWS, POLICY and PRACTICE, Redistricting, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race RulesAlabama, attorney fees, States

Video – The Voting Rights Act 50 Yrs. Later

By EditorJan 11, 2016

Wash. DC: Professors Julian Zelizer and Orville Vernon Burton talked about the factors that led to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and challenges to voter’s rights after the Supreme Court invalidated part of the act in 2013.

Redistricting Race Rulesfeatured

NCSL Covers the Evolution of the Voting Rights Act

By EditorSep 28, 2015

Is the Voting Rights still relevant in 2015? How has it changed voting since 1965? How has it been transformed along the way? Is it still an effective shield against state laws that hinder minority voting? (more…)

Redistricting, Redistricting Race Rulesfeatured, national, U.S.

Supreme Court Looks Past Weak Pleadings to Find Potential Racial Gerrymander in Alabama Map

By EditorApr 14, 2015

The Supreme Court’s recent opinion remanding a challenge by Black state officials to the 2012 Alabama Legislative district map back to a federal district court is relatively short for a majority opinion but chock full of legal nuggets as the justices’ focused on several bases for returning this case back to a lower court to reconsider its ruling against the plaintiffs. In all, the decision discussed four distinct issues; two procedural and two substantive – it felt the lower court bungled. If we had to explain the four corners of the Alabama opinion in one sentence it would be; The…

NEWS, Racial Gerrymandering, Redistricting, Redistricting Gerrymanders, Redistricting Litigation, Redistricting Race RulesAlabama, black caucus, lawid

UMass Lowell to Mark 50th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act

By EditorMar 09, 2015

Contacts for media: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu LOWELL, Mass. – Fifty years ago this month, civil rights activists engaged in three historic marches from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., with the goal of demonstrating that black Americans wanted to exercise their constitutional right to vote. The marches were watershed moments in the nation’s struggle for civil rights in the 1960s. The first march was interrupted by a violent confrontation between activists and police. A second attempt led by Martin Luther King Jr. was also unsuccessful and that same day, a black minister from Boston was…

Redistricting Race Rulesevents, Massachusetts

ACLU Seeking Millions in Yakima Voting Rights Lawsuit

By EditorMar 04, 2015

The city of Yakima lost a voting rights lawsuit against its at-large city council elections. Now the ACLU, which filed the lawsuit - wants court costs and attorneys fees. The group is asking for $2.8 million in its court filing.

Redistricting Race RulesACLU, Yakima Washington