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Welcome to the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Newsroom. This page contains our press releases, news clips and blog posts.
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Missouri Must Extend Voter Registration Deadline to Correspond with Rescheduled June 2, 2020 Municipal Elections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jefferson City, MO (March 20, 2020) – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, Dēmos, and ACLU of Missouri issued a letter demanding that Missouri Governor Michael Parson and Secretary...
As coronavirus creates ‘unprecedented obstacles’ to voting, Kentucky GOP takes step to add another: voter ID
Letter to Congress on Protecting Student Loan Borrowers
Washington, DC (March 20, 2020) : The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law joined a sign-on letter to Congress urging equitable protections and relief for student loan borrowers in Covid-19-related stimulus packages to ensure borrowers from marginalized...
Ohio Voting Rights Groups Demand Voter Registration Deadline Be Extended
COLUMBUS, OH (March 19, 2020) – Today, League of Women Voters of Ohio, A. Philip Randolph Institute Ohio, ACLU of Ohio, Lawyers' Committee on Civil Rights, and Demos sent a letter to Ohio Secretary State Frank LaRose demanding that changes to the Primary Election...
South Florida has one last day to vote early in the Florida presidential primaries
BY DAVID SMILEY MARCH 14, 2020 06:55 PM Early voting in Florida’s presidential primaries will end Sunday for Democrats and Republicans in South Florida despite calls from voting rights groups for the state to extend early voting due to concerns and...
‘Today, the United States of America Failed to Live Up to Our Democratic Ideals’
The Lawyers Committee’s Clarke complained on Monday night that DeWine was “issuing statements about the election but failing to provide crystal clear clarity about whether your constituents should show up and vote tomorrow.”
“I’ve never seen this level of sheer chaos in an election. Voters in Ohio are the ones who lose out,” observed the voting rights advocate, who noted that her group’s election protection hotline—1-800-OUR-VOTE—was receiving election day calls from Ohio voters who “were unaware that the election had been called off.” “The 11th-hour postponement in Ohio proved incredibly disruptive and chaotic today.”
Maryland Lawmakers Pass $580 Million Funding Bill For State HBCUs After Systematic Discrimination Suit
(Blavity) Maryland lawmakers have passed a funding bill, worth more than a half-billion dollars, for the state's four HBCUs. The legislation is in efforts to force federal courts to settle a lawsuit that alleges the state of Maryland was systematically...
Election Protection Overview of Barriers Faced by Voters in Illinois, Florida and Arizona Primary Elections
Washington D.C. (March 17, 2020) - On March 17, voters in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois cast ballots in their respective state’s presidential preference primaries. The primary election in Ohio did not go forward after state officials moved to postpone the election....
Despite COVID-19, poll officials report steady turnout, smooth voting
(Cronkite News) Voting in Arizona’s presidential preference primary Tuesday was decidedly calm in the midst of a decidedly anxious time in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, polling officials around the state said. Concerns about COVID-19 prompted Ohio officials...
Problems at the Polls: Primary Election Updates from National and State Organizations on Voting Issues
Join the 6:00pm ET press call Washington, DC (Tuesday, March 17) - Today at 6:00pm ET, national, state and Native voting rights leaders will hold a telephone press briefing to provide updates on the problems and challenges experienced by voters seeking...
Legal hotline for voters available; lawmakers’ return to Springfield uncertain
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s move to close primary polls because of coronavirus spawns confusion, criticism
Coronavirus chaos at the polls as primaries proceed in 3 of 4 states
(The Fulcrum) Chaos reigned Tuesday in all three states that pressed ahead with their Democratic presidential primaries in the face of the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic. Legions of poll workers, who are mainly older people and therefore in greatest danger of...
How Illinois Can (and Should) Prevent COVID-19 From Disenfranchising Voters
CHICAGO and WASHINGTON, DC (March 16, 2020) Yesterday, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in conjunction with the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a letter to the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Illinois Attorney General’s...
Election Protection Press Briefings with Voting Rights Leaders on Issues at the Polls on 3/17 at 11:30am & 6pm ET
Join press calls for updates on Primary Day voting issues Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, March 17, at 11:30 am ET and 6:00 pm ET, national, state and local voting rights leaders will hold telephone press briefings to provide updates on the problems and challenges...