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 […]
Alberta Currie
Meet Alberta Currie, the lead plaintiff in SCSJ’s litigation challenging North Carolina’s strict Voter ID requirement. Voting is a matter of pride for Alberta Currie. Since the age of 21 in 1956, she consistently has voted in every election. It was her grandmother who instilled in her the importance of never missing a voting day. […]
North Carolina State Court Allows Photo ID Challenge to Proceed to Trial
This afternoon, Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan ruled that a challenge to North Carolina’s photo ID requirement for voting will proceed to trial in July 2015. In ruling on the respective motions for judgment on the pleadings (where no evidence is allowed to be taken into account), Judge Morgan indicated that the case […]
Judge to take several weeks to rule on NC voter ID challenge
RALEIGH — A Wake County judge plans to take two to three weeks to decide whether a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s voter ID law should be dismissed or proceed to trial this summer. Mike Morgan, a Wake County Superior Court judge, briefed attorneys Friday after listening to several hours of arguments for and against the […]
The Fight Over Voter ID In NC Heads To State Court
A group that’s challenging North Carolina’s voting overhaul in federal court will take a different argument to state court Friday. The League of Women Voters and other plaintiffs are asking a judge in Raleigh to toss out a photo voter ID requirement that starts next year. Alberta Currie has turned out for election after election […]
Critics of NC’s voter ID law to present their case in court
RALEIGH — Whether N.C. voters will have to show a photo ID in 2016 will depend on whether opponents can show why they shouldn’t have to. That test begins Friday when critics of the 2013 election law overhaul argue that the ID requirement violates the North Carolina Constitution. North Carolina residents and voting-rights organizations challenging […]
"We Couldn't Eat The Birth Certificate" – the burden of Voter ID for people living in poverty
On September 3, 2014 in Texas, witnesses discussed the hardships of obtaining the state’s “free” voter ID. According to MSNBC, “Sammie Louise Bates moved to Texas from Illinois in 2011. She wanted to vote last year, but all she had was an Illinois identification card, and under Texas’s strict voter ID law, that wasn’t acceptable. […]
State asks court to deny appeal of ruling on voting law
This news piece is in response to the request by SCSJ, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, to reverse the August 8 2014 ruling that denied a request to put North Carolina’s strict new voting laws on hold until a full trial can be held on whether the laws are […]
5 things more frequent than voter fraud
According to recently released results from an ongoing survey, there have been just 31 instances of in-person voter fraud since 2000. It’s official: UFO Sightings Are More Common. In an effort to highlight the absurdity inherent in voter fraud claims, we compiled this list of things that you’re more likely to see. 1. Vladimir Putin’s publicity stunts : 41* […]
New ruling in NC voting rights case
Late on Friday, August 8th, Federal District Court Judge Thomas Schroeder issued a ruling in the lawsuit SCSJ and others are pursuing to stop the sweeping and harmful election law changes that the North Carolina General Assembly put into effect last year. You can read the 125-page opinion here. This is a partial victory […]
VRA anniversary leaves little to celebrate
The Voting Rights Act was signed into law forty-nine years ago, seeking to effectively extend the franchise in-full to black Americans. Although its initial enforcement at state and local levels often ranged from the superficial to the entirely absent, that historic legislation served as the foundation for subsequent civil rights suits that forced governments to […]
Voter Suppression: The Same Old Strategy
SCSJ recently represented the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and other plaintiffs in a federal hearing requesting a preliminary injunction to stop North Carolina’s Monster Voter Suppression Law. At this time we are waiting to hear back from the court on whether or not the law will be […]
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 […]
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 […]
SCSJ's Allison Riggs discusses voter suppression on the Rachel Maddow Show
On July 29, 2013 SCSJ staff attorney Allison Riggs appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show to discuss proposed voter suppression measures in North Carolina and throughout the U.S. Below is Allison’s interview with guest host Melissa Harris Perry. Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Please help fund SCSJ’s voting […]
Give Local America lets you help SCSJ TWICE as much!
You support social justice issues like voting rights, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and human rights – and you’re not alone! We do too. Right now there’s something you can do about it. From now until May 16, your social justice dollars go twice as far! We know you care about social justice. When you […]
Attorney: NC photo ID wouldn't stop 2-state voting
Attorney: NC photo ID wouldn’t stop 2-state voting By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press April 3, 2014 RALEIGH, N.C. — Data suggesting potential voter fraud in North Carolina’s 2012 elections still don’t justify wide-ranging and restrictive changes approved by Republicans last year that are now the focus of court challenges, voting rights advocates said Thursday. […]