Alabama

This story originally aired as a segment on FOX10 News.

The League of Women Voters of Mobile, AL, launched a TikTok challenge to encourage voter participation among high school and college students.

From January – August 2023, state legislatures nationwide passed various bills into law. While following these developments, the League noticed several important trends around voting rights and election administration.

This story was originally published by Public News Service.

Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama, praised the ruling as a "momentous day" for voters and voting-rights advocates, by guaranteeing Black voters in Alabama can fairly select their preferred candidate, knowing their votes matter.

SCOTUS upheld in Allen v. Milligan a lower court ruling that Alabama must create a second majority Black congressional district in compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

This story was originally published by Associated Press.

Alabama lawmakers on Tuesday concluded the 2023 legislative session that was marked by tax cut measures and ended with the shelving of some controversial measures, including a bill that would make it a crime to help a non-family member fill out an absentee ballot.

Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters of Alabama, said she was relieved the bill did not pass. She said it would have authorized the state to “intimidate, arrest and prosecute patriotic, law-abiding citizens for merely helping their friends and neighbors be able to vote absentee.”

This story was originally published by Alabama Political Reporter.

“House Bill 209 will incite fear and confusion for vulnerable and underserved voters who have in the past obtained information and assistance from trusted, non-profit, non-partisan organizations such as the League of Women Voters,” said Kathy Jones, president of the League of Women Voters Alabama. “There is no actual problem with voter fraud in the current Alabama absentee ballots process.

This story was originally published in Generations Magazine.

There is no “right” age to give back to your community. But for members of the League of Women Voters (LWV)—50 state League (and the District of Columbia), and more than 750-plus local leagues— there are key ways that leadership, which includes many volunteers older than age 50, is working to revolutionize our civic life. That work includes bringing people together, inspiring hope around government and expanding the franchise to new citizens.

This story was originally published by AL.com.

People who want to learn more about how state lawmakers make decisions about education, criminal justice, taxes, health care, and other issues have a new way to stay informed.

The Alabama Channel, a website created by the League of Women Voters of Alabama Education Fund, went live this week.

In the last decade, the US Supreme Court has severely weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was widely agreed to be the most influential civil rights law in our history.  

This term, the Court considers Section 2 in Merrill v. Milligan (now Allen v. Milligan). It threatens to weaken a well-established precedent lower courts have used for decades to evaluate redistricting plans alleged to be racially discriminatory.

This blog explores the history of Section 2 and its impact on discriminatory redistricting plans, explains the dispute in Milligan, and previews potential next steps to protect voting rights. 

LWVUS and LWV of Alabama stood in solidarity with Alabama voters in Merrill v. Milligan as it was heard before the US Supreme Court. Both Leagues had previously submitted an amicus brief in support of the Milligan plaintiffs.