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Voting Rights

Protecting Democracy and Securing the Future

Communities across the country are suffering as a result of a worldwide pandemic, the likes of which we have not seen in more than one hundred years. And in the midst of this pandemic, our elected leadership continues to fail us time and time again. Our elected leaders’ failures directly impact our community and create chasms between those who have access to resources and those who do not. One equalizing tool we do have, however, is the right to vote. The right to vote allows communities to have an equal say in how they are governed and allows our elected officials to be held accountable for ensuring that they have the community’s best interests at heart.
Voting Rights

Court Continues to Uphold Injunction Against North Carolina’s Discriminatory Voter ID Law

Durham, N.C. — A three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court declined to lift a preliminary injunction against North Carolina’s voter ID law in Holmes v. Moore, saying a modification to the list of permissible IDs approved by the legislature this summer does not resolve concerns that the voter ID law discriminates against voters of color.
Voting Rights

Federal Order Mandates Some Protections for North Carolina Voter Safety

Durham, N.C. — A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction that will put in place some key measures to help ensure North Carolina voters will be able to cast their ballots safely in November’s General Election, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The injunction by Judge William L. Osteen in Democracy North Carolina et al vs North Carolina State Board of Elections et al will make it easier for people to vote by mail and to help make sure all mail-in ballots are counted.
Voting Rights

Candidate Bevan J. Foster to Appeal Election Protest Decision of Wayne County Board of Elections

Durham, N.C. — By a decision of 3-2 following a formal hearing on July 7, 2020, the Wayne County Board of Elections has accepted the allegations of an election protest challenging the result of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners District 3 Democratic Primary, held on March 3, 2020. If that decision stands, it will overturn Bevan Julius Foster’s win in that contest. Foster, a Black man who had previously served on the Goldsboro City Council, won the primary with 40.78% of the votes. His win was challenged on the basis that Foster does not live in his district and thus was not eligible to run.
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Voting Rights

Voting Rights Organizations Provide Guidance to North Carolina Counties on Addressing Potential Early Voting Issues

Durham, N.C. — As North Carolina counties begin planning for the 2020 General Election, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Democracy North Carolina have started sending letters to the boards of elections in 27 counties offering information and research on how best to serve voters in their communities amid funding and public health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Letters to 33 additional counties will be sent in the coming weeks.
Justice System Reform

Education Justice Alliance, Students from Enloe High School, and SCSJ Demand that the Wake County School Board End the School Resource Officer Program and Terminate Contracts with Local Law Enforcement Agencies

Durham, N.C.— Jasmin Loraine Benas, Srivani Edupuganti, Teya Franks, and Reagan Razon of Enloe High School, in partnership with Education Justice Alliance (EJA) and Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), sent a demand letter to the Wake County Board of Education urging the immediate end of all school policing contracts with local law enforcement agencies and greater investments in alternatives to school policing. This termination demand is in response to both Raleigh Police Department’s violent use of force against peaceful protesters following the death of George Floyd and Wake County Public School System’s school policing practices that disproportionately harm Black and Brown students.
Justice
Voting Rights

Wayne County Board of Elections Upholds Election of Challenged Minority Candidate

Durham, N.C. — By a decision of 3-2 following a formal hearing, the Wayne County Board of Elections upheld Bevan Julius Foster’s win in the Wayne County Board of Commissioners District 3 Democratic Primary, which was held March 3, 2020. Foster, a Black man who previously served on the Goldsboro City Council, won the primary with 40.78% of the votes. His win was challenged by three people who alleged he did not reside in the district he would be representing, and thus was not eligible to run.
Public Interest
Voting Rights

SCSJ’s Chief Counsel for Voting Rights and Interim Executive Director Wins 2020 David Carliner Public Interest Award

Durham, N.C. — Allison Riggs, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice’s Chief Counsel for Voting Rights and Interim Executive Director, has been selected as one of two winners of the David Carliner Public Interest Award for her innovative work and commitment to protecting civil and human rights. The award, presented annually by the American Constitution Society, honors a mid-career public interest attorney who exemplifies fearless, uncompromising and creative advocacy on behalf of marginalized people.
Voting during COVID
Voting Rights

Voting Rights Organizations Seek Preliminary Injunction to Guarantee Voter Safety in November

Durham, N.C. — On behalf of Democracy North Carolina, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and eight individual voters, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Fair Elections Center and pro bono counsel from law firm WilmerHale have formally requested that a federal court temporarily amend some of the state’s voting laws to guarantee that North Carolinians can vote safely in November’s general election in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voting Rights

Voting Rights Organizations File Federal Lawsuit to Ensure North Carolina Holds Fair, Safe Elections in November

Durham, N.C. — On behalf of Democracy North Carolina, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and six individual voters, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Fair Elections Center and pro bono counsel from law firm WilmerHale have filed a lawsuit demanding North Carolina take the necessary steps to guarantee a fair, safe election in November, given the likelihood that the state and the country will still be experiencing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voting Rights

Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Dēmos Represent Parties Seeking to Prevent Voter Purges in Election Year

Durham, N.C. — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Dēmos, representing the League of Women Voters of North Carolina (LWVNC) and the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute (NC APRI), have moved to intervene in a lawsuit seeking the mass removal of individuals from voter rolls in Mecklenburg and Guilford counties. These critical civic engagement groups are seeking to intervene as defendants in Judicial Watch v. North Carolina, et al, a case filed in federal court earlier this month in which Judicial Watch is seeking the unjustified purge of thousands of registered voters in the run-up to this November’s presidential election.