Voting Rights

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Voting Rights

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

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.
Voting Rights

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.
Voting Rights

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.
Voting Rights

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.
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.