Virginia: Restoration of Voting Rights for People with Felony Convictions (2016)
In June 2016, the Fair Elections Legal Network and Jenner & Block filed an amicus brief in the challenge to the Virginia ex-felon restoration order, Howell v. McAuliffe, which was filed in the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Florida: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration
In March, 2017, Fair Elections Legal Network and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC filed a class action lawsuit that seeks to automatically restore former felons’ voting rights upon the completion of a sentence and end Florida’s arbitrary process for re-enfranchisement.
Kentucky: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration
In December 2018, Fair Elections Center and the Kentucky Equal Justice Center joined a lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s arbitrary process for voting rights restoration for felons. The lawsuit is brought on behalf of eight former felons.
Florida: Amendment 4 Advisory Opinion
Fair Elections Center and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Florida arguing that under the Florida Constitution as amended by Amendment 4, people with felony convictions do not need to pay administrative costs and fees to regain their voting rights. These costs fund the criminal justice system, but do not serve as punishment and are not part of the criminal sentence.
Kentucky: Arbitrary Rights Restoration
Our client submitted his voting rights restoration application to the previous Kentucky Governor, Matt Bevin, but Bevin never acted on his application. Bevin’s successor, Andrew Beshear, concluded that our client’s and all of the other nearly 900 applications pending, were denied by Bevin’s inaction. He also concluded that these nearly 900 individuals would need to reapply. Due process requires that these applicants be provided with notice of the change in their applications’ status. We have sued in state court to enforce this.
Kentucky: Arbitrary Rights Restoration
In 2019, Fair Elections Center and the Kentucky Equal Justice Center joined a lawsuit challenging Kentucky’s arbitrary process for voting rights restoration for felons. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of eight former felons.
Virginia: Arbitrary Voting Rights Restoration
In April of 2023, Fair Elections Center filed a lawsuit against Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and Secretary of the Commonwealth Kay Coles James, challenging Youngkin’s resurrection of an unconstitutionally arbitrary system for restoring voting rights to people with felony convictions.
