Accomplishments of the Project
For
a summary of the work of the Project since 1998,
click here.
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Expanding the right to vote
The
Voting Rights Project, along with the Brennan Center
for Justice at NYU Law School, and Law Offices of
James K. Green, P.A. (West Palm Beach, FL) have
filed suit seeking to overturn the constitutional
and statutory provisions in Florida which prevent
ex-felons from voting. For a copy of the complaint
in Adobe Acrobat format, click here.
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Defending majority-black legislative districts
The
Project is committed to defending legislative districting
plans which have expanded the ability of blacks
and Hispanics to elect candidates of their choice.
Several such cases are pending at the moment. We
recently filed a Jurisdictional Statement in the
U.S. Supreme Court seeking review of an adverse
decision in the U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Alabama. For a copy of the Jurisdictional
Statement in Adobe Acrobat format, click
here.
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The Census
The
Project has worked diligently over the last three
years to ensure that the Census would properly count
all groups in the country and would use the most
modern and accurate methods. On February
12, 1999, Voting Rights Project Director Edward Still testified at a briefing
before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights in favor
of a decision to continue to use sampling and make
the resulting data available for intrastate redistricting.
You may view an audio-visual file of his testimony
by clicking here. For a copy of our Census Outreach
brochure, click here. Other information and links about the
Census may be found at www.censusnetwork.org.
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Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
Section
5 of the Voting Rights Act provides a first line
of defense against discriminatory changes in voting
procedures. On January 24, 2000, the Supreme Court held that
"section 5 does not prohibit preclearance
of a redistricting plan enacted with a discriminatory
but non-retrogressive purpose." Reno v. Bossier Parrish School
Board, No. 98-405. For more information about this
decision, click here.
All
or parts of 17 states are covered by Section 5.
States or jurisdictions within states may "bail
out" from Section 5 coverage by proving a clean
record for a certain period of time. For more information
on this bail out procedure, click
here.
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1999 Voting Rights Conference
To
obtain copies of the materials from the 1999 conference
of the Voting Rights Project, click here.
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Will blacks be allowed to vote after
2007?
There
is a rumor floating around on the Internet that
blacks will lose the right to vote in 2007. For
the truth, click here.
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Guide for States and Voting Rights Advocates
What does the new law require? Civil rights groups
have prepared a comprehensive review - contact the
Voting Rights Project if you have questions. Click
here to download the PDF.
The
Committee is currently seeking financial support
for this program. For more information, please contact:
the Development Office of the Committee at: 202-662-8303.
The
Committee relies on contributions from individuals
lawyers, law firms, corporation, and foundations,
as well as volunteer legal services. Your contributions
is tax-deductible. Contributions can range
from as little as $10.00 to $500, $1,000, $10,000
or much more. Click
here to donate now. | Legal Notice
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