Freedom to Vote Archives | Page 63 of 114 | American Democracy Minute

SCOTUS Declines Stay Request from Michigan’s Independent Redistricting Commission; 19 State House & Senate Districts to be Redrawn

January 23, 2024January 23, 2024

We reported January 16th on a federal court finding that maps drawn by Michigan’s Independent Citizen Redistricting Commission diluted Black voting power and must be redrawn. An appeal to keep the existing maps was declined Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Voter ID Clarity Needed in North Carolina, and Better Pay Requested for Poll Workers in South Carolina

January 22, 2024January 22, 2024

We’re in the Carolinas today, where South Carolina’s election director appealed for higher pay to replace poll workers driven off by threats and low wages, and North Carolina democracy groups want clarity of new restrictive voter ID rules.

Louisiana Legislature Hashes Out New Court-Ordered Congressional Maps with Two Majority Black Districts

January 17, 2024January 17, 2024

Racing the clock, the Louisiana legislature meets this week to hash out new court-ordered Congressional voting districts, with two of them being majority Black. They’re also considering new state supreme court districts.

Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission’s Maps for Greater Detroit Under Scrutiny for Voting Rights Act Violations. What Happened?

January 15, 2024January 15, 2024

In December 2023, a federal court threw out state redistricting maps for greater Detroit, drawn by the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, or MICRC. Truly independent redistricting is the gold standard; so what happened?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “March on Ballot Boxes” Speech in South Carolina, May 9, 1966

January 14, 2024January 14, 2024

On May 9, 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke in Kingstree, SC about the importance of voting on the eve of a state primary. "Let us march on ballot boxes until 'brotherhood' is more than a meaningless word and at the end of a prayer but the first order of business on every Legislature’s slate or agenda. Let us march on ballot boxes."