Voting Rights Act (VRA) Archives | American Democracy Minute

Federal Appeals Court Weighs Whether the Georgia Legislature-Drawn Majority-Minority Districts in Metro Atlanta Met Judge’s Order

May 28, 2025May 28, 2025

In a recent report from Georgia, we told you about voters contesting a mass voter eligibility challenge by election conspiracy group True the Vote. In another 11th Circuit courtroom that same week, a group of Black voters challenged the voting districts for metro Atlanta.

2020 Mass Challenges of 364,000 Georgia Voters Under Scrutiny by Federal Appeals Court

May 27, 2025May 28, 2025

Georgia law allows unlimited challenges by voters to the eligibility of other citizens registering or voting. Before a hotly-contested U.S. Senate runoff elections in 2021, an activist group challenged over 364,000 voters. The case is now before an appeals court.

Courts Use the ‘Gingles Test’ to Determine Whether Redistricting Violates the Voting Rights Act

May 25, 2025May 27, 2025

Five years into the redistricting cycle, we're still litigating racially gerrymandered voting maps. Today, we’re looking at a principle called the “Gingles Test” that federal courts use when determining whether a gerrymandered redistricting map is a violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. How that test is interpreted can determine whether minority voters can elect the candidate of their choice, or their vote is diluted by an anti-voter state legislature.

Governor Signs Colorado Voting Rights Act in Effort to Guarantee Access and Voting Power for Native, Hispanic, Black and LGBTQ Voters

May 13, 2025May 13, 2025

Governor Jared Polis signed the Colorado Voting Rights Act on May 12th, another state to take action in the face of ongoing erosion of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Act forbids discrimination in voting practices, protects registration and voting for Native voters, and curbs racial gerrymandering, among several provisions.

Fallout Continues from 2023 SCOTUS ‘Milligan’ Decision, as the Alabama Legislature Faces Possible Return of Preclearance Requirements

May 11, 2025May 11, 2025

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in Allen vs. Milligan in 2023, finding Alabama must provide an additional majority-Black Congressional District. Defiant, the legislature created new maps - again with only one real majority-minority district. That action could return Alabama to “preclearance” status by the federal government.