Fighting Voter Suppression

LWVUS and LWVDC submitted a statement that urged Congress to prioritize DC’s autonomy and its elected leaders’ right to make policies for its residents.  

Statement for the League of Women Voters of the United States and the League of Women Voters of the District of Columbia before the US House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and US House Committee on Administration. 

Joint Hearing on American Confidence in Elections: The Path to Election Integrity in the District of Columbia.

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.”

Today the League of Women Voters of Mississippi, Disability Rights Mississippi, and three Mississippi voters filed a federal lawsuit challenging SB 2358, newly passed legislation that significantly diminishes access to the ballot for Mississippians with disabilities. The plaintiffs are represented by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Mississippi Center for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), ACLU-MS and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS). 

This story was originally published in TAPinto Asbury Park.

League of Women Voters of Monmouth board member Annette Scott provides weekly education at NJ Reentry Corporation

Tallahassee, FL — Today, the League of Women Voters of Florida, represented by Campaign Legal Center (CLC), sued Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and Secretary of State Cord Byrd to block provisions of Florida’s recently enacted omnibus election law that would restrict and penalize basic nonpartisan civic engagement efforts. The law, Senate Bill 7050, directly targets and drastically restricts the ability of nonpartisan civic engagement organizations, like the League of Women Voters of Florida, to engage with voters, violating their right to freedom of speech and association.

Voter ID laws have long been debated in the United States. While supporters argue that voter photo ID laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud and ensure the integrity of elections, reality tells a different story. Not only do these measures disproportionately impact Black, Native, elderly, and student voters, but they also fail to effectively address any real issues related to election integrity.

LWV of Louisiana filed a federal lawsuit asserting Louisiana’s documentation requirements to register to vote for people with felony convictions violated the NVRA

Federal lawsuit by LWV of Arizona challenging voter intimidation by defendants Lions of Liberty and Clean Elections USA. The groups were conducting surveillance of voters using ballot drop boxes.

In October 2022, the League of Women Voters of Arizona (LWVAZ) brought a lawsuit to protect voters from intimidation at ballot drop boxes in Arizona. A federal court found that defendants Melody Jennings and her organization (then known as Clean Elections USA)—as well as individuals working with the defendants—had likely violated voter intimidation laws when they engaged in surveillance and harassment of voters at ballot drop boxes during the 2022 election. The Court ordered them to immediately halt intimidating conduct.