Kentucky: Protecting Voters from Unlawful Purges

In June 2024, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky challenging a provision in Kentucky election law that mandates the removal of voters from voter registration rolls without following procedures required by federal law. The plaintiff, represented by Fair Elections Center and Kentucky Equal Justice Center, argues that amendments to state law in 2021 regarding voter removals under Kentucky House Bill 574 clearly violate the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).

Virginia: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration

Virginia Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration This is a First Amendment lawsuit that seeks to end the arbitrary restoration of voting rights to Virginians convicted of felonies. Restoration decisions must be governed by clear and objective rules and criteria. Plaintiff: George Hawkins Defendants: Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia, and Kelly Gee, Secretary of the Commonwealth of […]

Wisconsin: Absentee Voters’ Rights

Fair Elections Center along with Wisconsin-based Law Forward, filed a complaint on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin in Dane County Circuit Court, seeking both clarity and protection for absentee voters whose ballots have technical defects.

In February 2024, Wisconsin courts have rejected the Wisconsin State legislature’s bid to block relief for absentee voters won by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin’s lawsuit. On January 30, the League, represented by Law Forward, Fair Elections Center, and Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, secured an order from the Dane County Circuit Court that protects four categories of absentee ballots with purported defects in the address recorded by the voter’s witness. That ruling relied on the 1964 Civil Rights Act which prohibits denying the right to vote for technical errors or omissions that are not material to determining a voter’s eligibility.