COLUMBUS, OH – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Dēmos and the MacArthur Justice Center filed a class action lawsuit challenging Ohio’s policy of disenfranchising eligible voters arrested just prior to the election and held in detention through Election Day.

Under the current system, eligible voters who are detained pretrial by the state are being unconstitutionally denied their fundamental right to vote. Ohio’s disenfranchisement of these qualified voters violates the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In addition to the class action lawsuit, the three groups representing two individual plaintiffs and a proposed class of plaintiffs, filed a request for a temporary restraining order on Ohio’s practice, seeking to allow individuals who are held in pretrial detention in Ohio county jails to exercise their fundamental right to vote by casting an absentee ballot in today’s election.

This group of Ohio citizens includes registered eligible voters arrested and held in pretrial detention in Ohio on or after close of business on Friday, November 2 who are eligible to vote in Ohio.

“No qualified voter should be categorically denied the right to vote. Ohio’s practice of refusing to provide ballots to late-jailed voters is particularly egregious because it most severely affects those who cannot afford bail,” said Mark Gaber, senior legal counsel at CLC. “Our laws should promote voting, not restrict it. Ohio violates the Constitution by fencing off a group of eligible voters and physically precluding them from voting.”

"The criminal legal system in Ohio disproportionately jails poor people and people of color. Hundreds of eligible citizens are systematically prevented from exercising their fundamental rights," said Chiraag Bains, director of legal strategies at Dēmos. "The Secretary of State has the power to correct this injustice, and he must."

“The right to vote is not taken away at the jail door,” said Laura C. Bishop, voting rights project attorney at the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center. “Voting is key to making democracy work and keeping people engaged with their communities. Governments should encourage, not erect barriers, to voting. Voting is more than a civic duty. It’s a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

Ohio already has a procedure for use by voters who discover in the days leading up to an election that they are unable to reach the polls due to unforeseen hospitalization. Late-jailed voters could be easily accommodated by granting them access to the procedure available to late-hospitalized voters. The state recognizes that it has a compelling reason to facilitate the provision of ballots to late-hospitalized voters; so there is no reason to prevent late-jailed voters from using that procedure and casting their ballots as well.

In October, CLC sent a demand letter to Secretary Jon Husted informing him of Ohio’s lack of policy concerning late-jailed voters and outlined options the state could pursue to rectify the situation. CLC argued how Ohio was in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by not affording late-jailed voters an option to cast a ballot.

The lawsuit today was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division. The case is called Mays v. Husted.

Court Orders Georgia Sec. of State Brian Kemp to Permit Voters Inaccurately Flagged by State’s Flawed System to Vote 

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Secretary of State Brian Kemp to allow voters who have been flagged and placed in pending status due to citizenship to vote a regular ballot in the November 2018 election.

Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, on behalf of a coalition of civil rights groups, challenged the law in federal court and filed a request for emergency relief  before the November 6, 2018 Election.

“With respect to Tuesday’s election, we deem this a total victory in our fight against Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s exact match scheme,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Court has recognized — even at this early stage of this important case — that our clients have a significant chance of proving that Secretary Kemp’s “exact match” scheme interferes with our precious right to vote. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the sort of obstacles that are being placed in front of voters — disproportionately minority voters. We will continue to fight to knock every one of them down. For now, we are thrilled that this order will allow over 3000 voters to vote this Tuesday without being subjected to unnecessary hurdles.”

“This is a major victory for Georgia voters and instills hope that our democracy will function as it should in Georgia on Election Day,” said Danielle Lang, senior legal counsel, voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “The court clearly recognized the harm that the state’s flawed ‘exact match’ system caused voters, particularly minorities. It’s especially gratifying that the state is required to take steps to educate registrars and poll managers on how to properly verify voter eligibility.”

 "We are very pleased with the commonsense solution that Judge Ross issued to ensure that thousands of new citizens will have their voices heard in this election,” said Phi Nguyễn, Litigation Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Atlanta. “We will be on the ground on Election Day to help members of our immigrant communities know and exercise their voting rights."

“Today’s ruling protects the right to vote of eligible voters who have been incorrectly accused of being non-citizens by Georgia election officials,” said Phyllis Blake, President of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP.  “Judge Ross’s ruling will ensure that these voters will be able to cast a regular ballot on Election Day if they bring their proof of citizenship to the polls.  Today is a good day for Georgia voters, and the NAACP will continue to monitor this situation and ensure that county and state election officials do their part and prevent any voters from being improperly disenfranchised in next week’s election.” 

“The right to vote is fundamental, and today’s ruling is an important step towards protecting Georgia voters in Tuesday’s election,” said Helen Butler, Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda. “Today’s ruling ensures that no voter will be disenfranchised because he or she has been incorrectly accused of being a non-citizen by Georgia election officials.  We encourage all affected voters to take advantage of the court’s ruling and come to the polls on Election Day with appropriate identification.”

A coalition of civil rights organizations filed the lawsuit on October 11 and filed an emergency motion on October 19. The case is called Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda v. Kemp.

Court expresses concern with the North Dakota voter ID address requirements, but chooses to not intervene on the eve of the election

Earlier this week, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Robins Kaplan LLP, and Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll PLLC brought a case on behalf of the Spirit Lake Tribe and individual Native American voters in North Dakota likely to be disenfranchised by the state’s recently enacted voter identification law and addressing system. As part of that case, plaintiff’s requested a temporary restraining order that would stop the requirement for voter identification with the voter’s current residential street address, which already has caused confusion for voters and state administrators.

Today, November 1, 2018, US District Judge Daniel L. Hovland (District of North Dakota) denied the request for relief from the voter identification law.

Read the order.

Judge Hovland agreed with the plaintiffs about the disarray of the current system, and expressed grave concern about the issues of voter disenfranchisement raised in the Spirit Lake Tribe’s complaint saying, “The litany of problems identified in this new lawsuit were clearly predictable and certain to occur as the Court noted in its previous orders in Brakebill v. Jaeger.”

However, despite these concerns, Judge Hovland declined to take action in the case with the election less than a week away, fearing that any court order at this time would create even more confusion and chaos on the eve of the election.

"While today’s decision is disappointing, NARF and CLC are considering the available options and will continue working to ensure all natives in North Dakota have proper documentation and the ability to exercise their right to vote."

NOTE TO VOTERS IN NORTH DAKOTA:

Native Americans in North Dakota should show up to vote with their identifications. If the poll worker denies them their right to vote because of the residential address requirement, they should demand a set-aside ballot and immediately contact their community leaders for assistance.

Plaintiffs are represented by the Native American Rights Fund, Campaign Legal Center, Robins Kaplan LLP, and Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll PLLC in the case Spirit Lake Tribe v. Jaeger.

Despite the Native American Community Mobilizing to Issue Valid IDs, Many May Still Be Denied the Right to Vote, Lawsuit Indicates 

BISMARCK, ND. – Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the Native American Rights Fund, and partners, filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Spirit Lake Tribe and six individual plaintiffs to ensure that eligible Native American voters residing on reservations in North Dakota will be able to cast a ballot in the 2018 midterm elections and in all future elections.

Under current law, North Dakotans can’t vote unless they have identification that shows their name, birth date, and residential address. Recent investigations demonstrate that the law threatens to disenfranchise not only those who do not have street addresses or access to the necessary ID but also those whose addresses the state deems “invalid.” The state’s own addressing system appears to be incomplete, contradictory, and prone to error on reservations.

North Dakota tribal communities have been mobilizing to provide the necessary IDs to those living on reservations, with no help from the state of North Dakota. Despite their efforts, North Dakota’s voter ID law could prevent many eligible Native Americans from casting a ballot in the upcoming election on November 6. The lawsuit asks the court to provide targeted relief for affected voters in time for Tuesday’s election.

NARF Staff Attorney Matthew Campbell stated, “The state has pushed through a voter identification system that is confusing and in disarray. And people living on reservations are being most affected. Reservation addresses in the state’s database are inconsistent, inaccurate, and uncertain. Homes are listed on streets identified as ‘unknown’ and in towns that are off the reservations. Figuring out the state’s peculiar listings for residential addresses on reservations should NOT be a pre-requisite to voting, and the Native American Rights Fund is committed to fighting these discriminatory policies.”

“State policies should be designed to make it easier for all citizens to vote, but North Dakota’s voter ID law disenfranchises Native Americans living on reservations,” said Danielle Lang, senior legal counsel, voting rights and redistricting at CLC. “We have a choice between a democracy that includes all eligible voters and a system that excludes people based on their circumstances or backgrounds. Unless the court steps in, eligible Native American voters including our clients may be denied the right to vote next week due to the state’s deeply flawed system of assigning and verifying voters’ residential addresses.”

Many streets on the Spirit Lake Reservation do not have marked signs, and many houses are not labeled with numbers. The State of North Dakota has not provided the Spirit Lake Tribe with any resources to assist members in obtaining IDs with residential street addresses, as is now required by state law to cast a regular ballot. Many voters living on reservations may be at risk even though they have no reason to think that their IDs are insufficient due to the fact that their county – through an inconsistent 911-emergency addressing system that omits some residences – has assigned them a different address. Denied absentee ballot applications have been the warning sign for additional disenfranchisement to come if the court does not step in.

As if the address situation were not confusing enough, Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger has taken steps to worsen the situation, refusing to provide public comment on whether poll workers will accept addresses printed on newly issued IDs, while simultaneously warning that residential street addresses on IDs must not be “incorrect,” which creates a particular chill for Native American voters in light of the uncertainty caused by the response to the newly effective law.

On October 9, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to reinstate the statewide ban on enforcing the voter ID requirement, forcing Native Americans to work around the clock to comply with the law in the final month before the midterm elections. Today’s filing asks for more targeted relief based on evidence related to Secretary of State Jaeger’s enforcement of the law and is with the U.S. District Court of North Dakota Western Division, the same court that issued the April ban that ordered the state to accept otherwise valid forms of identification that listed either a current residential street address or mailing address.

Today’s lawsuit is filed under the name: Spirit Lake Tribe v. Jaeger. Learn more by visiting our case page.