Voting rights

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2013, file photo, civil rights leader the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery speaks at an event in Atlanta announcing state lawmakers from around the county have formed an alliance they say will combat restrictive voting laws, Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader who helped the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought against racial discrimination, died Friday, March 27, 2020, a family statement said. He was 98. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Joseph Lowery, civil rights leader and MLK aide, dies at 98

Mar. 28, 2020 11:00 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery fought to end segregation, lived to see the election of the country’s first black president and echoed the call for “justice to roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream” in America. For more than four decades after the death...

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2009, file photo, President Barack Obama presents a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery n the East Room of the the White House in Washington. Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader who helped the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought against racial discrimination, died Friday, March 27, 2020, a family statement said. He was 98. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Civil rights leader, MLK aide Joseph Lowery dies at 98

Mar. 28, 2020 10:59 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, a veteran civil rights leader who helped the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and fought against racial discrimination, died Friday, a family statement said. He was 98. A charismatic and fiery preacher, Lowery led the...

Colleges team up to celebrate Women's History Month

Mar. 28, 2020 8:53 AM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — Two colleges in Boston are marking the end of Women's History Month with an open event to update and enhance the Wikipedia entries of several female activists. “Digitizing Women’s History: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon” is being hosted by Simmons University and Wentworth...

In this Wednesday, March 18, 2020, photo, early voters cast their ballots at the Zeidler Municipal Building in Milwaukee. Wisconsin Legislature's top Republicans told Democratic county clerks on Friday, March 27, to stop telling people they can mark themselves as indefinitely confined to get around photo ID requirements for absentee ballots, saying the governor's stay-at-home order isn't a lockdown. Wisconsin voters can request absentee ballots online, but they must upload a photo ID with the application. Voters who are indefinitely confined are exempt from the photo ID requirement. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

GOP calls Evers' mass ballot mailing idea 'complete fantasy'

Mar. 27, 2020 5:56 PM EDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans signaled Friday that they have no interest in postponing or adjusting the state's April 7 presidential primary despite the coronavirus threat, branding Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' call for the Legislature to send absentee ballots to every registered voter a...

Moments after announcing the possible extension of Ohio voting until June 2, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose answers a reporter's question at a coronavirus news conference Saturday, March 14, 2020 at the Ohio Statehouse. (Doral Chenoweth/The Columbus Dispatch via AP)

Ohio sets all-mail primary April 28; in-person voting off

Mar. 27, 2020 5:04 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio has set a new, almost exclusively mail-in primary election for April 28 due to the coronavirus, ignoring the timing recommendations of the state elections chief and some voting-rights groups. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed a sweeping relief bill containing the change Friday,...

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020 file photo poll worker Bill Martens mans the ballot machine and

Evers considering making spring election mail-only

Mar. 23, 2020 4:38 PM EDT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers said Monday that he's considering allowing people to vote in Wisconsin's spring election only by mail in order to protect voters and poll workers from the coronavirus. The April 7 election includes the state's presidential primary, a state Supreme Court race and...

FILE - In this March 18, 2020, file photo early voters cast their ballots at the Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building in Milwaukee, Wis. U.S. elections have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Election limbo as coronavirus outbreak upends US primaries

Mar. 21, 2020 3:16 PM EDT

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. elections have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. At least 13 states have postponed voting and more delays are possible as health officials warn that social distancing and other measures to contain the virus might be in place for weeks, if not months. The states that have yet to...

FILE - In this March 25, 1965, file photo, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lead off the final lap to the state capitol at Montgomery, Ala., as thousands of civil rights marchers joined in the walk to demand voter registration rights for blacks. A new project launched in March 2020 by the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University and a coalition of foundations seeks to bring online, interactive lessons about Selma and voting rights to students who are home from school due to the novel coronavirus. (AP Photo, File)

Selma Online offers free civil rights lessons amid virus

Mar. 20, 2020 1:13 AM EDT

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (AP) — The first attempt of the historic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965, led to police violence against peaceful African American demonstrators. The beatings, known as “Bloody Sunday,” generated anger across the nation 55 years ago this month and prompted...

A man walks along the shores of Lake Erie at Sims Park during the coronavirus outbreak, Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Euclid, Ohio. For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Ohio Guard to distribute food; unemployment claims top 100K

Mar. 19, 2020 5:31 PM EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has activated 300 members of the Ohio National Guard to help ensure needy communities get food, while the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said it received 111,055 unemployment insurance benefit applications online in the past four days. A look at...

A voter drops off a ballot for the Arizona Democratic presidential preference election Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Switching remaining primaries to vote-by-mail not so easy

Mar. 18, 2020 6:23 PM EDT

Voting rights groups and the head of the Democratic National Committee want the states with remaining primary elections to offer voting by mail as a way to ensure that voters can safely cast their ballots amid the coronavirus outbreak. A quick and easy fix? Not always. For states that don’t already have...

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