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Allison Riggs

Interim Executive Director / Chief Counsel, Voting Rights
allisonriggs@scsj.org

Allison Riggs leads the voting rights program at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, an organization she joined in 2009.  In March of 2020, she also took over as Interim Executive Director of the organization.

Her voting rights work over the last decade at SCSJ has been focused on fighting for fair redistricting plans, fighting against voter suppression, and advocating for electoral reforms that would expand access to voting.

She has litigated redistricting cases on behalf of State NAACP Conferences in Texas, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina. In 2018, she argued the Texas redistricting case in the United States Supreme Court, and in 2019, she argued the North Carolina partisan gerrymandering case in the Supreme Court.  Allison works closely with grassroots organizations and communities of color as they seek to advance their political and civil rights.  She received her undergraduate, Master’s Degree and J.D. from the University of Florida.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Partnering with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the south to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications.

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League of Women Voters et al v. North Carolina

Focus Area: Voting RightsFiled in: North Carolina
Last Updated: Mar 4, 2019Case Status: Closed

This was a federal court challenge to HB 589, North Carolina’s monster voter suppression law. Among other provisions, that law implemented a strict voter ID requirement that excluded college and out-of-state IDs; eliminated same-day registration and pre-registration for 16- and 17-year olds; cut early voting by a full week, including eliminating one of two “Souls to the Polls” Sundays; prevented otherwise valid out-of-precinct ballots from being counted; and expanded the ability of poll observers to challenge voters’ eligibility. The Fourth Circuit held that the law was intentionally racially discriminatory against black voters and struck down the challenged provisions. This success meant that voters in the 2016 general election were not required to have a DMV-issued photo ID, which voters of color disproportionately lack. In addition, voters had access to same-day registration and more days of early voting, and were able to cast a provisional ballot outside of their resident districts as long as they voted in the correct county, options that historically have been disproportionately utilized by voters of color.

Related Files & Resources

August 2013 Complaint – Filed 08/13/2013
May 2017 Certiorari Summary – Filed 05/15/2015

Related Media

Voting Rights Hearing 2/21/14 (02/21/2014)
Federal Court Orders N.C. Lawmakers to Release E-Mail Related to Passage of State's Sweeping Voter Suppression Law (03/27/2014)
SCSJ's Allison Riggs on The Rachel Maddow Show (05/08/2014)
Judge Says NC Lawmakers Can't Ignore Subpoenas (05/16/2014)
SCSJ, ACLU Ask Federal Court to Put N.C. Voter Suppression Law on Hold (05/20/2014)
Anita Earls on 'To The Point' (06/12/2014)
SCSJ to Battle Voter Suppression in Monday Hearing (07/03/2014)
SCSJ Opposes Voter Suppression in Federal Court (07/11/2014)
Allison Riggs Discusses Voter ID on All Things Considered (07/17/2014)
Voter Suppression: The Same Old Strategy (07/31/2014)
New ruling in NC voting rights case (08/08/2014)
Allison Riggs on The Ed Show discussing Voting Rights (08/12/2014)
State asks court to deny appeal of ruling on voting law (09/01/2014)
NC Voting Rights Challenge Goes To The Next Level (09/09/2014)
NC's voting battle is headed for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (09/24/2014)
Federal Appeals Court Hears Arguments on North Carolina's Restrictive Voting Law (09/25/2014)
Court of Appeals Restores Same-Day Registration and Provisional Ballots in N.C. (10/01/2014)
State of North Carolina asks U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the 4th Circuit Injunction (10/02/2014)
NC says it's making plans to comply with voter law (10/08/2014)
North Carolina scrambles after federal appeals court blocks new voting law (10/08/2014)
Supreme Court Allows North Carolina’s Tighter Voting Rules (10/09/2014)
Critics of NC’s voter ID law to present their case in court (01/30/2015)
U.S. Supreme Court declines to immediately hear N.C. voting law case (04/06/2015)
Changes Made to North Carolina Voter ID Requirements (06/18/2015)
ACLU and SCSJ Condemn Ruling in North Carolina Voting Lawsuit (04/26/2016)
NC Early Voting Restrictions Draw National Attention (08/31/2016)
North Carolina voter suppression law falls as U.S. Supreme Court turns down GOP appeal (05/15/2017)

Key Contact

Allison Riggs, Interim Executive Director / Chief Counsel, Voting Rights
allisonriggs@scsj.org

Last Updated: March 4, 2019

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