While voting rights battles rage on, voters enjoyed a recent string of victories in states across the country.
While voting rights battles rage on in states like Kansas, Arizona [3], Ohio [4], and Texas [5], voters enjoyed a recent string of victories in states across the country. In the past week, three courts halted restrictive photo ID bills and two state legislatures passed measures to make voter registration more accessible. Here are the details:
The voting rights triumphs over the past week are cause for celebration. Granted, it remains to be seen whether the court rulings will ultimately stand — the Arkansas decision has already been stayed and appeals may be forthcoming in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. But the willingness of the courts to strike down restrictive legislation, and a recognition among state legislators that there is a need for convenient, 21st century registration processes, is an encouraging sign for the future of the right to vote.
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Links:
[1] http://www.brennancenter.org/expert/lucy-zhou
[2] http://www.brennancenter.org/print/11639
[3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/28/voting-rights-kansas_n_5050827.html
[4] http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/05/federal_lawsuit_filed_against.html
[5] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voting-rights-lawsuit-filed-against-state-of-texas-state-senate-districts-unconstitutional-256050011.html
[6] http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/arkansas-id.pdf
[7] http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2014/04/29/supreme-court-stays-portion-of-voter-id-ruling
[8] http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-30/news/49497035_1_photo-id-law-voter-id-ruling-liberal-access
[9] http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Applewhite042814.pdf
[10] http://www.doj.state.wi.us/sites/default/files/2014-news/dkt-195-decision-order-20140429.pdf
[11] http://www.doj.state.wi.us/media-center/2014-news-releases/april-29-2014
[12] http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=2590&year=2014
[13] http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/03/12/the-states-with-the-highest-and-lowest-turnout-in-2012-in-2-charts/
[14] http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/04/30/3432698/hawaii-election-day-registration/
[15] http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/257030881.html
[16] http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/257261311.html
[17] http://www.brennancenter.org/issues/voting-rights-elections
[18] http://www.brennancenter.org/issues/voter-registration-modernization