North Carolina Pro-Democracy Groups File Lawsuit Against Youth Voting Restrictions (Press Release) 10/17/2023 DURHAM — North Carolina’s Senate Bill 747 (SB747) is an unconstitutional burden on the fundamental right to vote of young North Carolinians,…
People in Public Service: Shelley Kneip, League of Women Voters of Thurston County (News Clips) 10/15/2023 This was originally published by Thurston Talk. Shelley Kneip of Lacey may be technically retired, but you would never guess that when you visit…
Our Favorite VOTE411 Moments (Blog) 10/12/2023 Our nonpartisan one-stop-shop for election information has experienced a lot since it launched, from celebrity shout-outs to going fully bilingual!…, 2006 The League of Women Voters' Education Fund launched VOTE411, a nonpartisan, online election resource…, Get involved Visit the site today, and don't forget to share with friends so they are empowered to make their voices heard. Visit VOTE411.org
A Racial Gerrymandering Case at the Supreme Court: Alexander v. SC State Conf. of the NAACP (Blog) 10/3/2023 The Supreme Court’s 2022 Term brought us redistricting wins (though the fights were a little too close for comfort in Allen v. Milligan and Moore v.…, If map drawers use race as a predominant factor while redistricting but can’t show a compelling reason for doing so, the resulting districts are…, South Carolina’s Racially Gerrymandered Map After the 2020 Census, states were required to redraw their congressional districts to reflect…, In their complaint, the plaintiffs argue the legislature impermissibly used race when redrawing the map because they chose to use race over…, South Carolina appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which automatically hears appeals on racial gerrymandering claims. In its appellate…, The brief also detailed how the enacted congressional districts artificially divided Charleston County and its main economic assets by placing tens…, Without the protection of Section 5, voters seeking to challenge racial discrimination in redistricting must file suit in federal court, as the…
The Hyde Amendment: An Abortion Barrier Hiding in Plain Sight (Blog) 9/28/2023 Content warning: This blog contains brief mentions of medical treatment in cases of rape and incest The Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal…, Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides medical benefits to people living with low incomes, including more than 16 million women of…, Upon the Hyde Amendment’s passage in 1980, the number of abortions funded by federal Medicaid dollars dropped from roughly 300,000 per year to a few…, South Dakota is the one state in violation of the federal standard and only funds abortions in cases of life endangerment. Seventeen states use state…, For individuals on federal medical programs who live in the 32 states and DC where state funds are not used for abortion services beyond federal…
Supreme Court Review: The October 2022 Term (Blog) 9/26/2023 This blog is intended for educational purposes and does not reflect the policy positions of the League of Women Voters. During the 2022…, These decisions reveal a Court majority that, while unwilling to completely upend well-established checks and balances and protections against racial…, After the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down gerrymandered congressional maps under the state constitution’s free and equal elections clause,…, But the opinion contained a caveat giving federal courts a role in interpreting state court decisions on state law, stating “federal courts must not…, Ms. Smith claimed that she planned to expand her business by building unique, tailored wedding websites for couples but refused to create any…, The majority opinion stated that Ms. Smith’s websites constituted expressive content — content that was personal to her. Given the content’s…, Given the widely diverging interpretations of this ruling by the majority and dissent, the effect of this ruling is unclear. This decision will…, Fundamentally, the Court’s opinion ensures that Section 2 remains a viable tool to challenge redistricting maps that fail to give voters of color an…, The Voting Rights Act and the rights it protects cannot be truly secure until there are laws and elected officials at all levels of government…, SFFA argued the institutions’ policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which applied to these universities due to…, By striking down affirmative action in higher education admissions, the Court’s six conservative majority made clear that they do not like to view…
LWV Applauds House Reintroduction of John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (Press Release) 9/19/2023 WASHINGTON – Today the League of Women Voters of the United States CEO Virginia Kase Solomón issued the following statement in response to the House…
Voting Rights Heroes in the Disability Community (Blog) 9/12/2023 Happy Disability Voting Rights Week! Per the American Association of People with Disabilities, there are currently 38 million people with…, Rosa May Billinghurst Born in Lewisham, England, in 1875, Billinghurst contracted polio during childhood, which led her to use a tricycle…, Fannie Lou Hamer Civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer was born in 1917 in Mississippi. While she’s one of the more known figures in the civil…, Barbara Jordan Born in Houston in 1936, Jordan overcame segregation and poverty to become the third Black attorney to practice law in Texas.…, Jordan also supported the Equal Rights Amendment and other bills and resolutions dedicated to improving the lives of historically disenfranchised…, What Can You Do to Fight Ableism in Voting? There are things you can do to promote accessibility and fight ableism at the polls: It…
A century of civic engagement: League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Tulsa celebrates 100 years (News Clips) 8/31/2023 This story was originally published by TulsaPeople. When the National League of Women Voters began in 1920, none of its founding members had ever…
Legal Trends to Watch in 2023 (Blog) 8/30/2023 From January – August 2023, state legislatures nationwide passed various bills into law. While following these developments, the League noticed…, Voter ID Bills Some states passed laws that made voting more difficult by implementing new or stricter voter ID measures. Idaho's HB 124…, In 2023, some states passed laws that could make it harder for people to register to vote. For example, Alabama enacted HB209, which criminalizes…, Voter Purges Sometimes, states remove people from voter rolls to keep the rolls accurate. If not done carefully and fairly, this can (and often does…, Protecting Election Officials Some states passed laws to keep election workers safe. Nevada's AB 354, New Mexico's SB 43, and Oklahoma's…