Latest Voting rights News

Editorial Roundup: Mississippi

Mar. 06, 2024 15:09 PM EST

Greenwood Commonwealth. March 5, 2024. Editorial: House Weighs Fix To Felon Voting Ban Mississippi’s lifetime ban on most — but not all — felons is being challenged in the courts and at the state Capitol. This is something the Legislature can fix,...

Kamala Harris leads Bloody Sunday memorial as marchers' voices ring out for voting rights

Mar. 03, 2024 19:30 PM EST

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris told thousands gathered for the 59th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday attacks on civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, that fundamental freedoms, including the right to vote, are under attack in America even today. Harris joined...

Democratic lawmakers ask Justice Department to probe Tennessee's voting rights restoration changes

Feb. 29, 2024 18:14 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of Democratic Tennessee lawmakers is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate how the state has further restricted the process for people with felony records to get their voting rights back. According to the letter, 22 Democratic...

Vice President Harris to mark 'Bloody Sunday' anniversary in Selma

Feb. 27, 2024 15:14 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Selma, Alabama, on Sunday to commemorate the 59th anniversary of a landmark civil rights moment. Harris will speak as part of the annual remembrance of “Bloody Sunday,” on the bridge where, on March 7, 1965, white...

EU welcomes Polish plan to address concerns about democratic backsliding

Feb. 20, 2024 08:13 AM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior European Union officials on Tuesday welcomed a plan by Poland’s new government to address concerns about democratic backsliding and expressed hope that it could end years of legal wrangling. Poland has been at loggerheads with the EU's executive branch...

Group will appeal court ruling that Georgia voter challenges don't violate federal law

Feb. 02, 2024 17:24 PM EST

ATLANTA (AP) — A group trying to stop voter challenges in Georgia says it will appeal a trial court ruling that such challenges don't violate federal voting rights law. Fair Fight Action on Friday filed notice that it would ask the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the...

Tennessee GOP leaders see no issue with state's voting-rights restoration system

Jan. 25, 2024 15:41 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's top Republican lawmakers say they have no issue with the state's strict policy on restoring voting rights for those convicted of a felony, arguing that people shouldn't have violated the law if they wanted to continue casting ballots. Earlier...

Felons must get gun rights back if they want voting rights restored, Tennessee officials say

Jan. 23, 2024 21:22 PM EST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state's toughened voting rights restoration policy requires people convicted of a felony to get their gun rights restored before they can become eligible to cast a ballot again, Tennessee’s elections office said Tuesday, confirming a mandate that officials had been...

Can Mississippi strip felons, including tree thieves, of voting rights? Federal judges hear the case

Jan. 23, 2024 16:22 PM EST

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Whether permanently stripping voting rights from some Mississippi felons amounts to unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment is being weighed by 19 federal appellate judges, some of whom said during a hearing Tuesday that it should be decided by lawmakers, not a court. ...

Court rules absentee ballots with minor problems OK to count

Jan. 02, 2024 20:16 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin election clerks can accept absentee ballots that contain minor errors such as missing portions of witness addresses, a court ruled Tuesday in a legal fight that has pitted conservatives against liberals in the battleground state. Dane County Circuit...