FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 18, 2022MEDIA CONTACTS: Gino Nuzzolillo, gino@scsj.org, 402-415-4763Melissa Boughton, melissa@scsj.org, 830-481-6901Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 Durham, N.C. (Jan. 18, 2022) — On Friday, January 14, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court to review legislative defendants’ appeal of a state court ruling striking down their racially-discriminatory voter ID law. […]
SCSJ, COMMON CAUSE TO APPEAL ‘DISAPPOINTING’ NC REDISTRICTING RULING
Three-judge panel upholds “intentional, pro-Republican partisan redistricting.” Raleigh, N.C. (Jan. 11, 2021) — A three-judge panel upheld North Carolina lawmakers’ partisan gerrymanders Tuesday despite calling them “a result of intentional, pro-Republican partisan redistricting,” in a case consisting of three consolidated challenges to the states’ 2021 enacted voting maps: North Carolina League of Conservation Voters et […]
“Nefarious intent:” Closing arguments in NC redistricting trial highlight GOP efforts to entrench partisan control
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 6, 2022 Raleigh, N.C. (January 6, 2022) — North Carolina’s redistricting trial ended Thursday with closing statements from attorneys on both sides. Their arguments capped a week filled with expert testimony from mathematicians and political scientists and a Wednesday afternoon bombshell that a North Carolina lawmaker used secret maps to guide […]
NC Redistricting Trial, Day 3: Lawmaker admits secret maps used as “gameplan” for 2021 redistricting
Raleigh, N.C. (January 5, 2022) — A North Carolina lawmaker charged with drawing the state’s voting maps revealed he consulted “concept maps” previously undisclosed to the public and his Democratic colleagues, according to testimony during day three of the state’s redistricting trial. Rep. Destin Hall, who led the N.C. House redistricting process, told attorneys about […]
Maps ‘dilute racial opportunity:’ Experts highlight impacts of extreme gerrymandering as North Carolina redistricting trial continues
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 4, 2022 MEDIA CONTACTS: Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906; SCSJGino Nuzzolillo, gino@scsj.org, 402-415-4763; SCSJMelissa Boughton, melissa@scsj.org, 830-481-6901; SCSJBryan Warner, BWarner@commoncause.org, 919-599-7541; Common Cause NC Raleigh, N.C. (January 4, 2022) — North Carolina’s redistricting trial continued Tuesday with more expert testimony revealing how the state’s Republican lawmakers used 2021 voting maps to give themselves […]
‘A systematic pro-Republican bias:’ Experts open North Carolina redistricting trial with evidence of extreme partisan gerrymandering
Raleigh, N.C. (January 3, 2022) — North Carolina’s redistricting trial kicked off Monday with expert testimony establishing the state’s Republican lawmakers used 2021 voting maps to give themselves an extreme partisan advantage in state legislative and congressional elections. Plaintiffs’ first witness, Dr. Jowei Chen, a Political Science professor at the University of Michigan, focused on the congressional districts […]
VOTING RIGHTS GROUP JOINS NC REDISTRICTING CASE TO CHALLENGE GERRYMANDERED MAPS’ IMPACT ON BLACK VOTERS
UPDATE: On December 15, the Wake County Superior Court granted Common Cause’s motion to intervene in North Carolina League of Conservation Voters et al. and Harper et al. v. Hall. Read the court’s order here. Raleigh, N.C. (December 13, 2021) — Voting rights group Common Cause moved to intervene on Monday in North Carolina’s consolidated […]
BREAKING: CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS APPEAL TO N.C. SUPREME COURT TO ADDRESS LAWMAKERS’ REDISTRICTING FAILURES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2021 MEDIA CONTACTS:Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906Gino Nuzzolillo, gino@scsj.org, 402-415-4763 Raleigh, N.C. (December 7, 2021) — Civil rights groups appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court on Monday to expedite their challenge of the North Carolina legislature’s process for drawing state legislative and Congressional voting maps. The Southern Coalition for Social […]
SCSJ Responds to Temporary Stay in North Carolina Candidate Filing
DURHAM, N.C. (Dec. 6, 2021) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) responded Monday to an N.C. Court of Appeals order halting 2022 candidate filing pending the resolution of active redistricting lawsuits. We are gratified to see North Carolina’s appellate courts acting to ensure time for review of the North Carolina General Assembly’s blatantly unconstitutional redistricting. […]
Court Tosses Republican Effort to Attack Black Representation in Caswell County
Yanceyville, N.C. (December 4, 2021) — A superior court judge late Friday denied a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have blocked commissioners’ redistricting plans retaining two districts that elect Black candidates in Caswell County, North Carolina. The court also granted the motion of the NC NAACP to intervene in the matter, and heard arguments from […]
SCSJ RESPONDS TO AMICUS BRIEF FROM BIPARTISAN GROUP OF FORMER GOVERNORS CHALLENGING NC REDISTRICTING
Durham, N.C. (Nov. 29, 2021) — Former Governors Michael F. Easley (D-North Carolina), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-California), Christine Todd Whitman (R-New Jersey), and William Weld (R-Massachusetts) on Monday filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the Wake County Superior Court. The bipartisan group is urging the court to examine the “far-reaching impacts” of North […]
SCSJ, NC NAACP Ask to Intervene in Lawsuit Attacking Black Voters in Caswell County
Yanceyville, N.C. (November 24, 2021) — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), with pro bono counsel from Mayer Brown, moved to intervene on Wednesday in a lawsuit seeking to eliminate two districts that have historically allowed Black voters to elect their candidates of choice in Caswell County, North Carolina. Read the full motion to […]
SCSJ, Civil Rights Groups File Federal Lawsuit to Block Racially Discriminatory Redistricting in Texas
Austin, T.X. (November 16, 2021) — Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, Fair Maps Texas Action Committee v. Abbott, challenging new Texas state legislative and Congressional district plans as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders violating both the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution. The suit details an inadequate redistricting process lacking transparency, which led to discriminatory […]
SCSJ, Voting Rights Groups Ask to Intervene in North Carolina Voter Purge Case
SCSJ: “We look forward to making our case that these purges represent yet another attempt to thwart the freedom to vote in North Carolina.” Durham, N.C. (Nov. 15, 2021) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and pro bono counsel from Womble Bond Dickinson, LLP, asked a federal judge late Friday to allow two voting rights organizations — the North […]
BREAKING: CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS FILE STATE LAWSUIT OVER NORTH CAROLINA REDISTRICTING FAILURES
Raleigh, N.C. (Oct. 29, 2021) — Civil rights groups filed a state lawsuit today challenging the North Carolina Legislature’s process for drawing new N.C. House and Senate voting maps. The suit would block proposed state legislative districts for failing to consider race during the initial stages of the map-making process in ways that could have […]
SCSJ Calls on Lee County to Protect Black Voters in Redistricting Process
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2021MEDIA CONTACT: Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 Durham, N.C. (Oct. 18, 2021) — On Monday, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) called on Lee County officials to adopt a redistricting plan that protects Black voters. In a letter addressed to Lee County Attorney Whitney Parrish and the County’s seven sitting commissioners, […]
SCSJ Responds to Court of Appeals Decision Defending Voters Against Intimidation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2021 MEDIA CONTACT:Gino Nuzzolillo, Communications Advocate, SCSJ, 402-415-4763, gino@scsj.org SCSJ: “We vow to keep fighting against election fraud conspiracies so that no person experiences this kind of voter intimidation again.” Durham, N.C. (October 5, 2021) — In a 3-0 decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled today that accusing […]
Voting Rights Groups Applaud Judge’s Recommendation to Dismiss Lawsuit to Purge North Carolina Voters
SCSJ: “The court’s ruling sends a strong message that efforts to purge voters will not be tolerated in the Tar Heel state.” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2021 MEDIA CONTACTS: Sailor Jones, 919-260-5905, sailor@scsj.orgGino Nuzzolillo, 402-415-4763, gino@scsj.org Durham, N.C. (September 30, 2021) — In an editorial published this week, voting rights advocates from the League of […]