VOTING RIGHTS
Improving Access to Voting
SCSJ’s approach to election administration and protection ensures full access to the ballot and dismantles barriers to the vote.

Election Protection Efforts
We firmly believe that election protection and administration work must be year-round efforts every year, not just in federal election years. Maintaining this continuity makes it easier to identify and respond to voting problems early, create a network of engaged advocates, and build a better record for litigation. The ultimate goal is to specifically ensure that voters of color, historically disenfranchised voters, and, more generally, all voters in the South can elect their preferred candidates freely and safely.
SCSJ’s approach to election administration and protection ensures full access to the ballot and dismantles barriers to the vote. Barriers in the South include:
- requiring photo ID at the polls,
- restricting voter registration,
- limiting or cutting election budgets, and
- otherwise discouraging and disenfranchising voters.
In addition to providing county-by-county training to advocate for better election funding, more early voting options, and to count every vote, SCSJ lends legal support to previously incarcerated voters and others who might be targets for disenfranchisement.
SCSJ’s election administration work and policy advocacy focuses on protecting access to the ballot and monitoring legislative initiatives aimed at requiring photo ID at the polls, restricting voter registration, or otherwise disenfranchising voters. In addition to trainings on advocating for more early voting sites, SCSJ has provided legal support to enforce the voting rights of people with felony convictions or misdemeanors who are in jail or prison.
SCSJ strives to link claims for equitable representation with claims for fuller participation by all people. For example, voter ID requirements hinder effective participation by numerous groups, including young people, the elderly, and people with disabilities. We also provide zealous advocacy in the redistricting process to ensure the fair and full participation of all voters. By demystifying the political and legal processes around redistricting, and providing models for more inclusive democratic structures, we hope to generate broader policy reforms that improve the democratic process overall.
Election Administration & Protection Resources



"Elections are designed to ensure self-determination for our communities — to decide how we equitably decide representation and resources."
Our Cases
SCSJ's novel approaches to impact litigation and reframing of key voting rights issues have changed the discourse about voting rights.
Kivett v. North Carolina State Board of Elections
SCSJ and co-counsel submitted an amicus brief at the NC Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court to protect absentee military and overseas voters.
Learn MoreRepublican National Committee v. North Carolina State Board of Elections, et. al.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the North Carolina Republican Party filed a complaint on Sept. 12 to stop University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) students from using their digital Mobile One Cards as identification cards to vote in the 2024 election.
Learn MoreRepublican National Committee v. North Carolina State Board of Elections
The NC State Conference of the NAACP and two impacted NC voters requested to intervene in a case to protect nearly a quarter of a million voters from the Republican National Committee’s and North Carolina Republican Party’s baseless attempt to force the State Board of Elections to remove them from the state’s voter rolls on the eve of the 2024 presidential election.
Learn MoreElection Administration & Protection News
‘Election Integrity’ Activists at Heart of 2023 Omnibus Election Bill, Evidence Shows
RALEIGH, N.C. (May 13, 2025) — North Carolina legislators are yet again trying to conceal the role of “election integrity” advocates Cleta Mitchell and the North Carolina Election Integrity Team (NCEIT) in the passage of Senate Bill 747 (SB 747) — an omnibus election bill from 2023 that increased barriers to voting and targeted same-day…
Read More ‘Election Integrity’ Activists at Heart of 2023 Omnibus Election Bill, Evidence Shows
Statement on Judge Jefferson Griffin Conceding NC Supreme Court Race
RALEIGH, N.C (May 7, 2025) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Forward Justice have issued the following statement about Judge Jefferson Griffin’s concession of the North Carolina Supreme Court race from November that incumbent Justice Allison Riggs won. The concession comes after a federal judge ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections…
Read More Statement on Judge Jefferson Griffin Conceding NC Supreme Court Race