Voting Rights Archives | American Democracy Minute

Michigan Case Which Used the ‘Independent State Legislature Theory’ to Challenge Voting Rights Ballot Questions is Thrown Out

April 11, 2024April 11, 2024

We reported last October that 11 Michigan GOP legislators used the “Independent State Legislature” theory to challenge two Michigan ballot questions expanding voting rights. A federal judge dismissed their case April 10th.

Federal Court Releases Redistricting New WA Maps After Striking Down Districts Diluting Latino Voting Power

March 19, 2024March 19, 2024

A Washington State fight over Latino voting rights may still not be over, but March 15th, a federal judge approved new state house and senate maps for central Washington State. The previous Washington State Redistricting Commission maps were thrown out as diluting Latino voting power.

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."

2024 Democracy Rollercoaster in Wisconsin, with Redistricting Challenges, Voting Rights Lawsuits, and a Close Election in Key Battleground State

January 8, 2024January 8, 2024

With narrow margins between Republican and Democratic voters in Wisconsin, both parties are fighting for every inch of ground before the state’s 2024 election, upon which both the Presidency and control of the U.S. House may hinge.

A Kansas Law Stopped Voter Registration Groups from Doing Their Work. A Kansas Supreme Court Ruling May Help them Fight Back.

December 21, 2023December 24, 2023

A 2021 Kansas law, H.B. 2183, made impersonating an election official a felony. But its vague language unintentionally or intentionally swept up voter registration groups like the League of Women Voters, stopping registration efforts. A Kansas Supreme Court ruling December 15th gives standing to the democracy groups challenging the law.