Erin Migneco, SCSJ Volunteer and NC State University Student, shares a blog post on the significance of Georgia’s votes and why the state is currently the nation’s political focus.
Voter Turnout in 2020 Leads to Monumental Election
Erin Migneco, SCSJ Volunteer and NC State University Student, shares a blog post on this year’s record-breaking numbers and sheds light on why this election is crucial for preserving democracy.
Statement from the Voting Rights Working Group on Counting Every Vote in the 2020 Election
WASHINGTON D.C. — As we near the end of this general election, the will of the people must be respected. In record numbers and in the face of a global pandemic, Americans voted early and on Election Day, and availed themselves of mail-in voting. But the right to vote includes the right to have your vote counted.
Statement from Members of the Voting Rights Working Group on Voter Integrity and the 2020 Elections
WASHINGTON D.C. — Members of the Voting Rights Working Group issued the following statement on voter integrity and the 2020 elections.
Op-Ed: Disenfranchised Minorities
Erin Migneco, SCSJ Volunteer and NC State University Student, shares an Op-Ed on voter disenfranchisement amongst people of color, especially those with criminal records.
U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Protections for North Carolinians Who Voted by Mail
Durham, N.C. — In a 5-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that allows North Carolina voters who make an error on their mail-in ballot to receive notice of the mistake and have an opportunity to fix it, as well as extending the deadline for receipt of absentee ballots. This critical ruling will help ensure potentially thousands of ballots are counted in this year’s critical General Election.
Process For “Curing” Mail-In Ballot Errors in North Carolina Clarified Following Federal Court Ruling
Durham, N.C. — Voters in North Carolina who choose to vote by mail will have greater clarity around the process for correcting mistakes on their ballot envelope following a ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The rulings by Judge William L. Osteen, in line with his preliminary injunction order instructing that North Carolina voters who make a mistake on their ballot must receive notice and an opportunity to fix mistakes, will help ensure a greater number of North Carolina ballots are counted this General Election.
CROWD Academy Fellows 2020-2022
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice is excited to support CROWD Academy graduates to serve as regional CROWD Academy Fellows for two years starting in the summer of 2020! Fellows will learn skills to support their community and partner organizations in their organizing efforts to monitor and intervene in the 2020-2022 redistricting cycle.
Voting Rights Organizations Continue Fight to Ensure All North Carolina Mail-In Ballots Are Counted
Durham, N.C. — Democracy North Carolina, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and individual North Carolina voters who have or plan to vote by mail this General Election have filed motions in two different federal lawsuits to guarantee that all absentee vote-by-mail ballots are counted, even if the voter makes a mistake when filling out their ballot envelope.
Federal Lawsuit Challenges North Carolina Felony Voting Law
Durham, N.C. — Two organizations focused on advancing equality and increasing political participation have filed a federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s Strict Liability Voting Law, a vague and racially discriminatory law that makes it a felony for North Carolina residents to vote if they are on parole, probation or post-release supervision for a felony conviction, even if they mistakenly believe they are eligible to vote. Virtually every other election crime punishable as a Class I felony in North Carolina requires intent. The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting prospective enforcement of the law, including for the 2020 General Election.
Launch of #MyVoteMyVoice
As the 2020 General Election approaches, SCSJ is uplifting the voices of voters, especially of young people, in the voting process through short and compelling videos.
Make a Voting Plan
Do you have a voting plan for this year’s General Election? Do you know when you will vote, or how? As the 2020 General Election approaches, SCSJ has created a one-stop digital hub to provide North Carolinians with all of the information they will need to vote, from checking to see if they’re registered to vote to learning about the different ways to vote – especially in the midst of a pandemic. Accompanying the NC state-specific webpage is a separate webpage for national resources, including state election information.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Eases Access to Voting for Nearly 1.3 Million Medicaid Recipients
Durham, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has begun mailing voter registration forms to nearly 1.3 million Medicaid recipients who have had their benefits automatically renewed within the past year. Additionally, moving forward, voter registration forms will be mailed out with the correspondence DHHS already sends to Medicaid recipients whose benefits have been automatically renewed.
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.
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.
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.
North Carolina State Board of Elections Upholds Election of Challenged Wayne County Candidate
Durham, N.C. — In a unanimous, bipartisan 4-0 vote, the North Carolina State Board of Elections overturned a decision by the Wayne County Board of Elections and upheld Bevan Julius Foster’s win in the Wayne County Board of Commissioners District 3 Democratic Primary.
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.