SCSJ: “Today, the Supreme Court ignored the impact of Arizona’s racist, anti-voter legislation” Durham, N.C. (July 1, 2021) — A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today denied challenges to two election restrictions in Arizona and narrowed the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act without foreclosing the possibility to bring future claims. […]
SCSJ Amicus Brief in Brnovich v. DNC
In January 2021, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed a “friend of the court” brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Brnovich v. DNC on behalf of four A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) chapters dedicated to defending voting rights across the South. As stated in the brief’s opening […]
OP-ED: NC Senate’s proposed budget includes measures that could undermine fair elections
Read SCSJ Executive Director and Chief Counsel for Voting Rights Allison Riggs’s Raleigh News & Observer op-ed HERE. ___________________________________________________________________________________ State Senators, sent to Raleigh to pass a budget that addresses North Carolinians’ needs, have just advanced new anti-voter proposals in a fiscal plan with lasting impacts on the freedom to vote. The latest version of […]
Southern Coalition for Social Justice Joins N.C. Voting Rights Advocates to Oppose Anti-Voter Bills
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2021CONTACT: Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 RALEIGH, N.C. (June 14, 2021) — Voting rights advocates converged on the grounds of the N.C. General Assembly on Monday for a press conference to speak out against Senate Bills 326, 724, and 725 as lawmakers ramp up efforts to restrict access to the ballot. […]
OP-ED: North Carolinians have the right to know the truth about those seeking their sensitive voter information
North Carolinians have the right to know the truth about who is seeking their sensitive voter information
SCSJ Represents Democracy North Carolina in Amicus Brief Urging State Court to Reject State’s Proposed Remedy Maps
Late Friday, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Democracy North Carolina urging a three-judge state court panel in Common Cause v. Lewis to reject the “remedial” State Senate and House redistricting plans enacted by the General Assembly a little over a week ago. SCSJ and Democracy NC argued that those plans fail to eliminate the partisan bias that led the court to invalidate the prior plans as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.
North Carolina’s Middle Court Orders New Legislative Maps Drawn by September 1
Greensboro, N.C. — A panel of three federal court judges has ordered the North Carolina General Assembly to redraw legislative maps by September 1, 2017 in order to remedy the unconstitutional and racially gerrymandered districts found in the Covington v. North Carolina case. Legislative leaders had requested until November 15 to enact new maps, despite […]
U.S. Supreme Court Affirms that North Carolina Racially Gerrymandered State Legislative Districts
North Carolina’s federal Middle District Court will consider when new districts are to be drawn and elections to be held WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed a lower court’s decision in Covington v. North Carolina that 28 of North Carolina’s state legislative districts are racial gerrymanders. The decision was issued “per curiam” […]
Report shows Same-Day Registration enabled voter access across the board
[av_textblock size=’12’ font_color=” color=”] DURHAM, N.C. On April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court is slated to consider whether or not is will hear an appeal to a lower court’s ruling that found North Carolina’s 2013 voter suppression law “targeted African-American voters with almost surgical precision.” This is the fourth time the appeal has been scheduled […]
Election Information for Southern States
Election Day has arrived! Here are the times polls are open in states across the South and links to where you can find your polling place: North Carolina: Polls are open 6:30 am – 7:30 pm. Find your polling place at http://vt.ncsbe.gov/pollingplace_search/ Virginia: Polls are open 6:00 am – 7:00 pm . Find your polling […]
SCSJ Files Amicus Brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in Virginia’s Racial Gerrymandering Case
September 15, 2016 Amicus Brief Filed at the U.S. Supreme Court in Virginia’s Racial Gerrymandering Case Race was a factor when lawmaker drew legislative districts WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed an amicus brief yesterday afternoon in support of plaintiffs in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections. In […]
SCSJ releases Supreme Court response to North Carolina’s Emergency Voting Case
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 […]
Federal judges order NC to redraw racially gerrymandered legislative districts
DURHAM, N.C. — Voters and voting rights advocates won a major court victory today in North Carolina, where three federal judges unanimously found that 28 of the state’s legislative districts are racially gerrymandered and must be redrawn after the November 2016 election. The three-judge court in the Middle District of North Carolina found that […]
Judge orders remedial actions in Wake County redistricting case
Raleigh, NC — This morning, August 9, a judge overseeing the Wake County redistricting case ordered a series of actions to resolve the unconstitutional redistricting for the Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Wake County School Board. The following is the list of actions to correct the situation, as ordered by the judge. County […]
Court will not reconsider unconstitutional election map ruling in Wake County
Durham, NC — On July 26, the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the petition for rehearing en banc filed by the Wake County Board of Elections in litigation over the method of electing the School Board and County Commission. This decision means that the lower court must now implement 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. […]
VA NAACP asks VA Supreme Court to uphold return of voting rights to people with prior felony convictions
Richmond, VA. —The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP filed a brief on Monday, June 27, 2016 in the Virginia Supreme Court in support of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s executive order restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 Virginians with previous felony convictions. Gov. McAuliffe’s Order for the Restoration of Rights, issued April 22, 2016, represents […]
Coalition of Civic Organizations Sues North Carolina for Failing to Comply with Federal Voting Rights Obligations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 15, 2015 Contacts Michael McDunnah, Project Vote 202-905-1397 / mmcdunnah@projectvote.org Hayley Home, Morrison Foerster 415-268-6021 / hhome@mofo.com Donté Donald, Demos 212-485-6062 / ddonald@demos.org Allison Riggs, Southern Coalition for Social Justice 919-323-3380 ext. 117 / allison@southerncoalition.org Stacie Burgess, Lawyers’ Committee 202-445-6101 / sburgess@lawyerscommittee.org Coalition of Civic […]