CLC to Present Oral Arguments Before Eleventh Circuit on Florida’s Modern-Day Poll Tax with Press Conference to Follow

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ATLANTA, Ga. – On the morning of Tuesday, January 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit will hear oral arguments in the ongoing Jones v. DeSantis litigation challenging the constitutionality of Florida’s modern-day poll tax on citizens with felony convictions that were re-enfranchised by Amendment 4, but who are unable to pay legal financial obligations such as court fines and fees. This case has been consolidated with Gruvar v. Barton, Raysor v. Lee, and McCoy v. DeSantis. 

Immediately following the court proceedings, Rosemary McCoy, the named plaintiff in the McCoy v. DeSantis case will be joined by counsel from the ACLU, the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The oral arguments will focus on Governor Ron DeSantis’s appeal of the District Court’s preliminary injunction of SB 7066 and are being heard on an expedited schedule that could determine whether all Floridians with felony convictions and financial hardship will be able to vote in the presidential primary elections on March 17. 

In order to facilitate the press conference, if you would like to attend in-person, remotely by phone, or receive a transcript or video footage.

PLEASE RSVP HERE

 

 

Oral Arguments in Jones v. DeSantis

Between 9AM ET - 10AM ET

Courtroom 338

Elbert T. Tuttle United States Court of Appeals Building

56 Forsyth Street, N.W.

Atlanta, GA

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End Florida’s Modern-Day Poll Tax Press Conference

10:30AM ET

Southern Center for Human Rights

60 Walton Street, N.W.

Atlanta, GA

 

SPEAKERS

  • Rosemary McCoy, named plaintiff and voting rights activist

  • Julie Ebenstein, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU 

  • Danielle Lang, Co-Director of Voting Rights & Redistricting for the Campaign Legal Center

  • Nancy Abudu, deputy legal director for the Southern Poverty Law Center

  • James “Major” Woodall, President of the Georgia NAACP

  • Tariq Baiyina, Community Organizer for IMAN Atlanta

Issues
Voting and Elections

Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum Completes Report on Expanding CLC’s Efforts to Confront Foreign Election Interference and Online Disinformation Threats

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Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is pleased to report that Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum, serving as a special advisor, has completed a project to provide recommendations on ways that CLC can expand its efforts to confront foreign election interference and online disinformation threats to U.S. elections.

Lawrence-Apfelbaum’s recommendation was based on extensive research as well as interviews with more than 40 technical, legal, and policy experts and current and former government officials from the U.S. and other democracies around the world. The internal report outlines legislative proposals, administrative actions, and policy work that CLC can undertake and expand in these crucial areas.

“CLC is grateful to Marc for his comprehensive report, which outlines several practical steps that we can pursue to help to better confront cyber threats to our democracy,” said Trevor Potter, CLC’s Founder and President. “We’re glad that he’s agreed to continue as an informal advisor to help us implement his proposals.”

“I’m very appreciative that Trevor and CLC gave me an opportunity to delve into and help to address these ongoing online threats,” said Lawrence-Apfelbaum.  “I look forward to continuing to help CLC to expand its work to confront these threats in advance of the 2020 elections.”

Lawrence-Apfelbaum will be speaking on February 7 on an election-integrity panel at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. He will present ideas he developed at CLC on the need for federal legislation to address potential election day cyber threats. You can see more about the program at https://www.georgetowntech.org/electionintegrity/. 

Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum Completes Report on Expanding CLC’s Efforts to Confront Foreign Election Interference and Online Disinformation Threats

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Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is pleased to report that Marc Lawrence-Apfelbaum, serving as a special advisor, has completed a project to provide recommendations on ways that CLC can expand its efforts to confront foreign election interference and online disinformation threats to U.S. elections.

Lawrence-Apfelbaum’s report was based on extensive research as well as interviews with more than 40 technical, legal, and policy experts and current and former government officials from the U.S. and other democracies around the world. It outlines legislative proposals, administrative actions, and policy work that CLC can undertake and expand in these crucial areas.

“CLC is grateful to Marc for his comprehensive report, which outlines several practical steps that we can pursue to help to better confront cyber threats to our democracy,” said Trevor Potter, CLC’s Founder and President. “We’re glad that he’s agreed to continue as an informal advisor to help us implement his proposals.”

“I’m very appreciative that Trevor and CLC gave me an opportunity to delve into and help to address these ongoing online threats,” said Lawrence-Apfelbaum.  “I look forward to continuing to help CLC to expand its work to confront these threats in advance of the 2020 elections.”

Lawrence-Apfelbaum will be speaking on February 7 on an election-integrity panel at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy. He will present ideas he developed at CLC on the need for federal legislation to address potential election day cyber threats. You can see more about the program at https://www.georgetowntech.org/electionintegrity/. 

Advocating for Fair Representation in Yakima County, Wash.

At a Glance

Yakima County uses a voting system that consistently prevents its Latino residents from electing their preferred candidates to the county commission. CLC notified the county commission that this system violates the Washington Voting Rights Act and called on the commission to an alternative election system instead. 

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Active
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Issues
Voting and Elections
About This Case/Action

On Jan. 15, 2020, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) sent a letter to the Yakima County Commission notifying it that the current system for electing candidates to the county commission violates the Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA) by denying Latino voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choice to the commission.

The WVRA allows voters to hold local governments accountable when an electoral system prevents communities of color from electing candidates of choice. The commission had 180 days from the date of notice to fix its electoral system. On July 13, 2020, CLC filed a lawsuit on behalf of the plaintiffs because the county failed to respond to the notice letter that the CLC sent within that 180-day time period. This lawsuit was filed on behalf of Latino voters Evangelina “Bengie” Aguilar, Candy “Dulce” Gutierrez, Rogelio Montez and Susan Soto Palmer, and OneAmerica, the largest immigrant and refugee advocacy organization in Washington, and in partnership with MacDonald Hoague & Bayless, a Washington-based civil rights and immigration law firm.

CLC and the parties it represents have called on the commission to adopt an alternative election system to remedy the WVRA violation. One option would be ranked choice voting (RCV). RCV would give minority voters equal opportunity to elect one of the three county commissioners. Learn more about the benefits of ranked-choice voting (RCV)." 

What’s At Stake

The Latino community makes up almost half of Yakima County and one-third of its citizen voting age population. But only one Latino candidate has ever won a seat on the three-person county commission, and candidates supported by the Latino community are rarely elected to any political office in the county.

This is because Yakima County structures its elections in a way that favors candidates backed by white voters while disadvantaging candidates backed by Latino voters. The county uses a “district-based top-two primary system,” which means that two candidates are initially selected by voters in each geographic district. But the three commissioners are then chosen in an “at-large general election,” which means that a majority of the entire county—rather than voters in each district—elects all three members of the commission.

Candidates backed by the Latino community rarely get enough countywide support to win even a single seat. Meanwhile, candidates preferred by white voters, who rarely support Latino-backed candidates, often win every seat. As a result, Latino voters are not equally able to elect candidates of choice and the county commission fails to reflect the full diversity of views and people in the community. 

Campaign Legal Center and Vote.org Join Forces to Educate People with Past Felony Convictions About Their Voting Rights

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WASHINGTON – Campaign Legal Center (CLC) will partner with Vote.org to reach millions of Americans with past felony convictions by increasing their access to information about their voting eligibility – in time for 2020 presidential primary voter registration deadlines.

Vote.org is one of the top voter registration and turnout organizations in the country. CLC’s website, RestoreYourVote.org, provides well-researched, state-specific information and resources to guide people with past felony convictions and help them take the steps needed to restore their rights.

“Our democracy works best when all eligible citizens can vote without barriers, and those who have paid their debt to society deserve a second chance,” said Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “While many states have some restriction on voting rights for people with felony convictions, most states restore the right to vote to citizens after they complete their sentences. In fact, up to 18 million Americans with past felony convictions could vote today, they just may not realize it because felony disenfranchisement laws in every state can be confusing. In order to have an active electorate, you must have an informed electorate that knows its rights. Our partnership with Vote.org guarantees we will reach more eligible voters with this information in time for the 2020 presidential primary registration deadlines.”

When people with past felony convictions visit Vote.org, they will now be directed to CLC’s RestoreYourVote.org to understand if they can vote. And when eligible voters visit RestoreYourVote.org, they’ll be prompted to use Vote.org’s best-in-class tools to register to vote and those who do register will be sent Vote.org’s proven election reminders and get-out-the-vote outreach.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Campaign Legal Center’s Restore Your Vote project to reach this important and often neglected segment of our electorate,” said Sarah Jackel, general counsel at Vote.org. “We know that in order to have a more representative electorate, we have to ensure that all eligible citizens – particularly those who have been historically disenfranchised and remain underrepresented in our electorate – can register and vote without informational barriers. By leveraging what we both do best, we’re confident that together Vote.org and CLC can increase voter turnout among those with felony convictions in 2020 and beyond.”

For more information about using the tool, or about potential partnerships, email: [email protected].

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  • Campaign Legal Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Washington D.C. Through litigation, policy analysis, state-based advocacy and public education, CLC works to protect and strengthen the U.S. democratic process across all levels of government.
  • CLC’s Restore Your Vote Campaign restores voting rights to people with past convictions by providing direct rights restoration services, empowering community leaders to understand rights restoration laws, and breaking down the false notion that a felony conviction always means you cannot vote. RestoreYourVote.org is a web tool to help Americans with past felony convictions understand their voting rights.
Issues
Voting and Elections

Florida Supreme Court Advisory Opinion Has No Impact on Federal Voting Rights Case Over Fines and Fees

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TALLAHASSEE, FL – Today, the Florida Supreme Court issued a non-binding advisory opinion stating that the phrase “all terms of sentence” in Amendment 4 encompasses financial obligations, such as fines, fees and restitution as a requirement for the restoration of voting rights for otherwise eligible citizens with felony convictions. The Florida Supreme Court never answered the question of whether Amendment 4 requires payment from those unable to pay as a condition for voting rights restoration.

Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights and redistricting, released the following statement:

“The decision today by the Florida Supreme Court changes nothing in the ongoing federal lawsuit. We will continue to fight to ensure that people with felony convictions are not denied the right to vote based on their inability to pay. Disenfranchising people because of financial hardship violates the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Supreme Court’s decision does nothing to change that. We look forward to making the case to Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Laurel Lee when we see them in court on January 28.”

The case is Jones v. DeSantis. The court has scheduled oral argument for January 28. Florida’s presidential primary registration deadline is fast approaching on February 18 and the presidential preference primary election is on March 17.

The lower court ruling restored voting rights to the 17 plaintiffs in the case, but the case continues. It will determine whether those individuals and hundreds of thousands of others in the same position will be able to vote in the 2020 election. CLC is representing three clients who would otherwise be denied the right to vote under Florida’s law because they are unable to pay off their fines and fees: Bonnie Raysor of Boynton Beach, Diane Sherrill of St. Petersburg and Lee Hoffman of Plant City. CLC filed a class-action lawsuit, and is also seeking relief for all Floridians who are denied the right to vote based on inability to pay.

Issues
Voting and Elections
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