• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Allison Riggs

Co-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, and in March of 2021, became the permanent co-Executive Director.

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.

Hilary Harris Klein

Counsel, Voting Rights
hilaryhklein@scsj.org

Hilary Harris Klein joined Southern Coalition for Social Justice in 2020 as Counsel for the voting rights program.

Hilary graduated with honors from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Global Law Scholar and Pro Bono Pledge Recognition recipient.  After law school, Hilary practiced commercial litigation, arbitration, and global investigations in the New York office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she co-led the US Pro-Bono Associate Counsel and served as lead counsel in Prisoner’s Rights and Anti-Human Trafficking matters, for which she twice received the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Public Award. 

After moving to North Carolina in 2018, Hilary served as a term law clerk for the Honorable Catherine C. Eagles of the Middle District of North Carolina. Hilary also holds a B.S.E., magna cum laude, in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and served for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania before law school.

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.

  • Home
  • About
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
  • News
  • Programs
    • Voting Rights
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Justice System Reform
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Youth Justice Project
      • News
      • Resources
  • Resources
    • Make a Voting Plan: North Carolina
    • Make a Voting Plan: National
    • #MyVoteMyVoice
    • Early Voting Advocacy 2020
    • Videos
    • Reports
    • Infographics
    • SCSJ-led Projects
  • SCSJ Monthly Digest
  • Contact
  • Donate

Search Southern Coalition for Social Justice

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.

August 4, 2020 by Allison Riggs Focus Area: Voting Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2020

For media inquiries:
Michelle Rash (SCSJ)
mrash@rlfcommunications.com
336-553-1733 (office)
336-823-5501 (mobile)


Rich Robinson (FEC)
rrobinson@fairelectionscenter.org
202-696-3406 (mobile)

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 entered by Judge William L. Osteen in Democracy North Carolina et al vs North Carolina State Board of Elections et al will help make sure all mail-in ballots are counted.

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Fair Elections Center and pro bono counsel from law firm WilmerHale are representing Democracy North Carolina, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina and eight individual voters in the lawsuit, which was filed in late May to help protect voters’ health and safety during the upcoming election.

Under the injunction, the legal team achieved victory for an individual plaintiff with a disability who will now be able to get the assistance he needs to vote from staff at his nursing home—help he is entitled to under federal law. Perhaps even more critically, the injunction also forbids local boards of election from rejecting mail-in ballots without notifying the voter and providing the voter with due process.

In the March 2020 primary, which was held prior to the onset of the quarantine due to COVID-19, nearly 15 percent of submitted mail-in ballots were rejected. At least 41 percent of these were for “curable” reasons, such as incomplete witness information or a signature mismatch.

In the 2016 General Election, there were 4.7 million votes cast in North Carolina, and a similar number is expected this year. North Carolina election officials expect 40 percent of voters to cast their ballots by mail this year, equating to about 2 million absentee ballots. If 15 percent of those ballots are rejected, that would be approximately 282,000 votes. Assuming that, as in the primary, 41 percent of those ballots are rejected for curable reasons, it would affect more than 115,000 votes.

“Judge Osteen clearly heard our argument that some people will have no choice but to vote absentee this election to protect their health. This ruling is important because it means that an estimated 115,000 votes that would have been rejected for potentially curable reasons will now be counted. We consider this a significant victory because it now prohibits the rejection of absentee ballots without due process,” said Allison Riggs, Chief Counsel for Voting Rights and Interim Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “This ruling is especially significant for voters of color, who are disproportionately likely to have their absentee ballots rejected. This decision will help ensure these voters are heard in November, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

While Osteen did not grant all of the plaintiffs’ requests, in his ruling he acknowledged that the state of North Carolina needed to do more to ensure voter safety in advance of this year’s election.

“Plaintiffs have raised genuine issues of concern with respect to the November General Election. Should Legislative and Executive Defendants believe these issues may now be discounted or disregarded for purposes of the impending election, they would be sorely mistaken,” Osteen wrote.

He added: “The 2020 General Election is going to be a test of the North Carolina government’s thoughtfulness, adaptability, and responsiveness to a rapidly changing environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will require North Carolina citizens, regardless of any personal feelings they might have with respect to masks, social distancing, and other guidelines, to respect and comply with those guidelines for the safety of all voters and in respect to differing voter concerns. It will require the best of the Legislative and Executive branches, as well as our citizens, to make this General Election safe and open to all eligible North Carolina voters.”

“During the pandemic, being able to cast a meaningful mail-in ballot is especially critical,” said Fair Elections Center Senior Counsel Michelle Kanter Cohen. “Under this ruling, voters will have the opportunity to find out about fixable problems and ensure their vote counts. Importantly, this order also confirms the importance of federal law in protecting the voting rights of people with disabilities.”

The plaintiffs and legal team are considering whether to appeal Osteen’s decision on the requests that were not granted.

PI Opinion in COVID Case by Tazeen Dhanani on Scribd

###

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners 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. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter and Facebook.

Fair Elections Center is a national nonpartisan and non-profit voting rights and election reform organization based in Washington, DC whose mission is to use litigation, public education and advocacy to remove barriers to registration and voting, and to improve election administration.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (WilmerHale) provides legal representation across a comprehensive range of practice areas that are critical to the success of its clients. The law firm’s leading Intellectual Property, Litigation/Controversy, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Securities, and Transactional Departments participate in some of the highest-profile legal and policy matters. With a staunch commitment to public service, the firm is renowned as a leader in pro bono representation. WilmerHale is 1,000 lawyers strong with 13 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit
www.wilmerhale.com.

Key Contacts

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

Hilary Harris Klein, Counsel, Voting Rights
hilaryhklein@scsj.org

Category iconPress Release,  Recent News,  Voting Rights

Next Article: Court Continues to Uphold Injunction Against North Carolina’s Discriminatory Voter ID Law
Previous Article: North Carolina State Board of Elections Upholds Election of Challenged Wayne County Candidate

Footer

Contact

1415 West Highway 54, Suite 101
Durham, NC 27707
info@southerncoalition.org
office: 919-323-3380
fax: 919-323-3942
Map

Key Links

About
Donate
Most Recent 990
Staff
Board

The Latest

Similar to other voters who testified this week, Mr. Kearney said that under NC's last voter ID law: 👉🏾poll workers seemed confused 👉🏾he was given the wrong ballot 👉🏾he was given no instructions to cure his ballot 👉🏾his vote didn’t count This is why we fight. #NCvoterIDtrial pic.twitter.com/8nYb…

About 2 hours ago

#NCVoterIDtrial resumed today w/ testimony from lifelong Warren Co. voter Paul Kearney who was disenfranchised in 2016 by NC's last voter ID law. Despite having “a billfold full of IDs,” Kearney, who is Black, didn't have the right ID that day. His provisional vote wasn't counted pic.twitter.com/0YoJ…

About a day ago

Following testimony from political scientist Dr. Kevin Quinn, NC voter Daniel Smith testified in day four of the #NCvoterIDtrial. Smith was disenfranchised by NC’s prior voter ID law when he attempted to vote using a temporary driver’s license after misplacing his original.

About 2 days ago

From historians to #ncga experts to election officials — this week’s testimony in the #NCvoterIDtrial has shed light on the process that led to NC’s discriminatory voter ID law and the effect of voter ID on eligible NC voters. The trial continues now: bit.ly/3uTNuVK pic.twitter.com/pPAR…

About 2 days ago

“As we saw in Georgia and we are seeing in Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and Michigan and plenty of other states, this is a coordinated, multi-pronged attack on the freedom to vote in this country” thecharlottepost.com…

About 2 days ago

Follow @scsj
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Copyright © 2021 Southern Coalition for Social Justice · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design