SCSJ releases Supreme Court response to North Carolina’s Emergency Voting Case Durham, NC — On Thursday, August 25, the League of Women Voters, represented by SCSJ, and other plaintiffs in State of North Carolina v. North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP asked the Supreme Court deny the State’s request to stay the Fourth Circuit’s […]
U.S. Appeals Court To Hear Wake School Board Redistricting Case
The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday on a lawsuit challenging Wake County’s school board election maps. The Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice is challenging the 2013 redistricting on behalf of a handful of Wake County residents and two local organizations. They argue that […]
Votes Not Counted: Mat’s Story
Mat Windsor was denied the right to vote in this election because of a bureaucratic mistake that could not be corrected. Mat did everything right, but because the law passed by the North Carolina General Assembly (H.B. 589) in 2013 to “combat voter fraud” ended same day registration—the ability of voters to register (or to […]
Supreme Court Allows North Carolina’s Tighter Voting Rules
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed North Carolina to implement tighter voting rules for the midterm elections, blocking a lower-court ruling that required the state to restore same-day voter registration and count ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The high court’s action, announced in a brief written order, dealt a blow to the Justice Department […]
North Carolina scrambles after federal appeals court blocks new voting law
North Carolina officials, scrambling to comply with a court ruling that blocked parts of a restrictive voter law just weeks before the November election, were in federal court on Tuesday to detail a proposed overhaul of their election plans. North Carolina was ordered to restore provisional ballots and same-day voter registrations last week when a […]
NC says it's making plans to comply with voter law
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. North Carolina is moving ahead with plans to comply with an appeals court ruling that restores same-day registration and counting out-of-precinct ballots for the fall election, a state attorney told a federal judge Tuesday. But members of civil rights groups that sued to restore the activities told U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder […]
Appeals court delays N.C. voting changes
Washington Post By Anne Blythe October 1 at 7:26 PM RALEIGH, N.C. — The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled Wednesday that two provisions of North Carolina’s election law overhaul in 2013 cannot be enforced during November’s election.The three-judge panel’s ruling reinstates same-day registration and restores out-of-precinct provisional voting.The judges did not […]
NC: Change in election laws discussed
By Jim Bradley for wsoctv.com Posted: 6:07 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Elections officials will have to wait to find out if changes to North Carolina’s elections laws passed last year will be put on hold for November’s election. A three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals heard arguments for […]
NC's voting battle is headed for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Thursday, September 25, on North Carolina’s restrictive voting law. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and the American Civil Liberties union (ACLU) are challenging provisions of the law that eliminate a week of early voting, end same-day registration, and prohibit out-of-precinct voting. SCSJ and […]
Allison Riggs on The Ed Show discussing Voting Rights
On August 12, 2014 SCSJ staff attorney Allison Riggs appeared on The Ed Show with guest host Michael Eric Dyson to discuss recent developments in litigation opposing North Carolina’s Monster Voter Suppression law. Coverage of North Caroina’s voting law starts at 1:36. Allison’s interview begins at 2:26. The Ed Show
Agreement reached after environmental justice complaint
After a year-long environmental justice battle, the Southernside, SC neighborhood is seeing progress toward a new bridge. Environmental Justice Complaint Background SCSJ began assisting the Southernside neighborhood with their environmental justice complaint in the summer of 2013. SCSJ filed a complaint on behalf of state Rep. Chandra Dillard and longtime resident Mary Duckett, alleging that […]
Texas Back in Court With U.S. in Minority Voting Fight
Texas Back in Court With U.S. in Minority Voting Fight By Laurel Brubaker Calkins Jul 14, 2014 4:24 PM ET for Bloomberg Texas will continue using biased election maps to discriminate against black and Latino voters unless ordered to stop, Justice Department lawyers told a panel of U.S. judges as the state’s long-running redistricting trial […]
Allison Riggs Discusses Voter ID on All Things Considered
Fate Of The New N.C. Voter ID Law Now Rests In A Judge’s Hands by Jeff Tiberii | July 11, 2014 — 2:23 PM North Carolina’s voter ID law has come under fire in the courts, challenged by lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice, the NAACP and voting rights groups. A judge will decide […]
SCSJ Opposes Voter Suppression in Federal Court
Attorneys from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, and the ACLU of North Carolina appeared in federal court this week to argue for a preliminary injunction that would prevent North Carolina from enforcing its voter suppression bill, H.B. 589, during the November 2014 election. The hearing included testimony from North […]
SCSJ to Battle Voter Suppression in Monday Hearing
On Monday, July 7, Southern Coalition for Social Justice’s Allison Riggs will partner with the American Civil Liberties Union to present arguments in federal court asking that North Carolina’s voter suppression law be placed on hold for the 2014 midterm elections. Riggs is the lead attorney in this case, League of Women Voters of North […]
SCSJ, ACLU Ask Federal Court to Put N.C. Voter Suppression Law on Hold
Southern Coalition for Social Justice, ACLU Ask Federal Court to Put N.C. Voter Suppression Law on Hold for Midterm Election May 20, 2014 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice have asked a federal court to put North Carolina’s voter suppression law on hold for the 2014 midterm […]
More progress in NC voting rights case
More progress in NC voting rights case Late in the afternoon on May 15, 2014 U.S. District Court Judge Schroeder upheld a magistrate’s ruling ordering North Carolina state lawmakers to release some e-mails and other documents related to the passage of the state’s sweeping voter suppression law. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern […]
NC Voting Rights: Judge says NC lawmakers can't ignore subpoenas
RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal trial judge declined Thursday to side with North Carolina lawmakers who believe they are not required to provide documents to groups seeking answers about how a disputed elections-overhaul law was passed. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Thomas Schroeder upheld the March decision of a magistrate judge who told General […]