WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, our Voting Rights Task Force co-chairs, and more than 150 organizations including Campaign Legal Center (CLC) called on Congress to fully fund and direct states and counties to administer the 2020 elections in a safe, fair, and accessible manner. The groups advocated for the implementation of vote-by-mail, the expansion of early voting, and viable in-person voting options. 

“Congress must provide states with at least $4 billion to prepare for the 2020 November and primary elections, and time is of the essence. In the last coronavirus response package, Congress provided only $400 million to states for election assistance. While a step in the right direction, that sum will defray only a fraction of the costs associated with implementing the necessary adjustments to safeguard the electoral process. In its next package, Congress must provide at least an additional $3.6 billion to help states prepare for 2020 elections amidst the COVID-19 crisis,” the groups wrote.

“Although large numbers of Americans will vote by mail this year, in-person voting options remain essential for the 2020 elections to be truly fair and accessible. In-person voting is still necessary, notwithstanding the challenges posed by COVID-19, because many communities in America simply will not have full and fair access to the election without in-person voting options and for others it is their preferred option,” said the groups.  “Accordingly, we must provide safe and effective in-person voting options, in order to prevent disenfranchising any American.  Unless we do so, marginalized communities will be locked out of this election."

TALLAHASSEE, FL – A federal judge today confirmed that any decision he issues in Florida’s rights restoration case, Jones v. DeSantis, would apply to all Floridians who would otherwise be eligible for rights restoration, but for their ability to pay off their fines and fees.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC) represents three individual plaintiffs with past felony convictions in the case, which challenges a Florida law requiring payment of fines and fees as a condition for rights restoration. To ensure that any final ruling in the case would extend to otherwise eligible voters beyond the individual plaintiffs in the case, CLC brought the lawsuit as a class action, and filed a motion for class certification last fall. Judge Robert Hinkle granted the motion today. The case goes to trial on April 27.

“Today’s class certification makes clear that whatever the outcome of the trial, it will apply broadly to hundreds of thousands of voters seeking rights restoration in Florida,” said Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “Roughly 80% of Florida voters whose rights were restored by Amendment 4 have outstanding fines and fees associated with their sentencing. The Florida law conditioning rights restoration on payment of restitution, fines, and fees penalizes citizens who face financial hardship while only re-enfranchising those who can afford to pay. Inability to pay should never be a barrier to the ballot box, and the state must provide a uniform process that gives all Floridians with past felony convictions access to voting, without discriminating on the basis of wealth.”

Judge Hinkle temporarily blocked enforcement of the Florida fines and fees law, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision.  Both the district court’s order and the 11th Circuit’s opinion make clear that it is Florida’s responsibility to make sure that state and county election officials comply with the constitutional principles articulated by both courts. The state, however, continues to insist that these rulings apply only to the individual Floridians who are participating in this lawsuit. Today’s ruling ensures that practice must come to an end.

CLC and our partners are currently planning to conduct the trial remotely.

Read the stories of our individual clients Diane Sherrill, Lee Hoffman and Bonnie Raysor.

WASHINGTON – On Monday night, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision declining to extend the deadline for absentee voting in today’s elections in Wisconsin by six days.

Paul Smith, Vice President of Campaign Legal Center (CLC) released the following statement:

“The chaotic struggle over the Wisconsin primary that broke out yesterday sent a chilling message about ballot access issues in November. States should heed this message and make preparations now to assure that we will not have similar problems with the general election this fall. Every state needs to have a way for citizens to vote by mail if they choose to do so, while also allowing in-person voting spread over a number of days. All of these arrangements need to be clearly explained to voters well in advance of the election. And just as importantly, states need to get ready to deal with a surge of mailed ballots. That is no small task, but there is no alternative.”

Due to rising health concerns, an unprecedented number of Wisconsin voters – recently encouraged by public officials – have turned to voting absentee. This has put a strain on election clerks that need to send out ballots, creating a backlog. News reports indicate tens of thousands of voters will not receive absentee ballots in time to send them back.