CLC submitted this request under the Freedom of Information Act to the U.S. Census Bureau. The request seeks documents related to the Census Bureau’s current attempt to obtain state government records related to driver licenses. The Bureau intends to use these state records to help compile data on how many voting-age U.S. citizens live on each census block. However, CLC is concerned about this plan because records on citizenship status held by state driver-license agencies are often outdated and inaccurate. CLC therefore filed this FOIA request to investigate why the Bureau wants driver-license records, how expansive the Bureau’s request for these records is, and what decisions the Bureau has made about the role these records will play in compiling citizenship data.  

After CLC and partners filed a friend-of-the-court brief in this case, the Washington Supreme Court issued an opinion interpreting the Washington constitution's uniformity provisions in a way that underscores the constitutionality of the Washington Voting Rights Act.

Today, CLC submitted public comments to the Vermont State Ethics Commission regarding a proposed statutory ethics code. CLC’s comments support Vermont’s effort to promulgate a statute with meaningful safeguards to maintain Vermonters’ trust in their state government. 

Specifically, CLC’s comments recommend changes to the proposed code’s gift rules, misuse of position provision, and outside and post-government employment restrictions. CLC also recommends that the Vermont State Ethics Commission house all financial disclosure documents and ethics disclosures required to be filed by state public servants in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format on the ethics commission’s website. 

Voting rights and redistricting litigation brought by CLC in response to the election challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current as of May 2020. 

More information about CLC's plan to protect the right to vote and redistricting during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been granting financial relief to certain oil companies that drill on public lands. Using BLM data published by the Center for Western Priorities, CLC found that hundreds of the oil leases that have received this relief are owned by political megadonors or have close ties to senior Interior officials' former clients.

This action challenges Yakima County, Washington's at-large electoral system as a violation of the Washington Voting Rights Act.

This guide is for community members, activists, legislators, and the media—anyone who wants to understand why state VRAs are necessary, and how they should be written to ensure that people of color and local governments have the necessary tools to secure equal voting rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 6, 2020 that states have the authority to require presidential electors to vote for the candidate that wins the popular vote in their state.