Enhanced Privacy Protections Delay the Release of Census Data (Blog) 8/11/2021 On August 12th, the US Census Bureau will release data that states and localities will use to redraw congressional, state legislative, and other…
The Fight for Voting Rights: Then and Now (Blog) 8/5/2021 This blog was updated in June 2023. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was a…, One example was in 1917 in Buchanan v. Warley, where the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Kentucky law enforcing residential segregation. The Court…, The Court ruled against our interests. On June 25, 2013, the Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that Section 4(b) was unconstitutional because the formula…
Lifting As We Climb: LWVUS Cases in January - July 2021 (Blog) 8/2/2021 The mission of the League of Women Voters (LWV) is to empower voters and defend democracy. In the first half of 2021, LWV has done just that through…
Where is the For the People Act Now? (Blog) 7/27/2021 On June 23, the Senate was unable to get past the 60-vote threshold needed to begin debate and consideration of the For the People Act. Since the…
Brnovich v. DNC and the Threat of Discriminatory Voting Laws (Blog) 5/11/2021 The Voting Rights Act (VRA) was passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. It was designed to prevent states—particularly…, After the Supreme Court struck down the coverage map in Shelby County, Section 2 became much more important: it was the only tool left for voting…, There are two background narratives working together to make Brnovich hugely consequential. States — including many of the states that were covered…
Demystifying The Rules: The For the People Act in Committee (Blog) 5/10/2021 As an organization, the League of Women Voters is dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy. The For the People Act, S1, is a bill that…
How the Census Affects Your Political Representation (Blog) 5/5/2021 Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its first set of data from the 2020 Census. The data determines the number of U.S. House districts that…
Redistricting Watch: I Will Fight for Fair Maps Because I'm Against Prison Gerrymandering (Blog) 4/9/2021 This blog was written by Patricia Rossi of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut. For over a century, the League of Women Voters has advocated…, Prison gerrymandering is an extension of racist policies. In Connecticut, Black people account for 11% of the state population, but 41% of the prison…, We’re also backing legislation like Committee Bill 753, An Act Concerning the Counting of Incarcerated Persons for Purposes of…
A Threat to America’s Wetlands: Center for Biological Diversity et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Blog) 3/12/2021 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s job is to protect ecosystems, endangered species, and human health. Yet a December 2020 decision from the…, The permitting application process is an essential step in ensuring that any potential impact is identified, analyzed, and treated. That’s because…, The plaintiffs in this case have pointed out several problems with how the EPA made its decision. Some are technical: for example, Florida and the…
Remaining Nonpartisan in Hyper-partisan Times (Blog) 2/10/2021 The League of Women Voters of the United States is proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties at any…