The MacArthur Justice Center works to defend the fundamental right to vote and the fairness of our elections. The ballot box is the foundation of our democracy and the ultimate safeguard against the violations of other constitutional rights.
Our voting rights work extends on our fundamental commitment to defend civil rights, combat racial discrimination, and advocate on behalf of those marginalized because of poverty or entanglement with the criminal legal system.
During any time of crisis, it is especially important to have fair, equal, and accessible elections that ensure government remains accountable to all of the people. We are working to ensure that the Covid-19 pandemic does not prevent people from safely casting a ballot. Nobody should be forced to choose between disenfranchisement and the risk of infectious disease.
Key Cases
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Swenson et al. v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
Voting Rights
A coalition of Wisconsin voters and organizations that work to mobilize Wisconsin voters sued state election officials for violating federal laws that protect the right to vote. The suit asks the court to remedy Wisconsin’s failure to implement measures to ensure that all Wisconsin voters will be able to freely and safely participate in the...
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Mays v. LaRose
Voting Rights
But, in Ohio, if a person is jailed in the days leading up to Election Day after the deadline to request an absentee ballot there is literally no way for them to cast a ballot. Even while it disfranchises jailed voters in this way, Ohio makes special accommodations to deliver ballots to people who...
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Jones v. DeSantis
Voting Rights
In 2018, Florida citizens voted to restore the right to vote to hundreds of thousands of formerly-incarcerated people. In response, however, the Florida legislature passed legislation imposing severe restrictions on voting rights restoration, including a requirement that people must pay all fines, fees, court costs, and other legal financial obligations before they regain their right...
Key Facts
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State-sanctioned discrimination
In 2013, the US Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that required federal approval before jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting could change voting rules. -
Photo ID Required
Since then, there has been a surge enacted complex new photo ID requirements that disproportionately disenfranchise minorities, young people, people who have recently moved, and people held in jail awaiting trial. -
Purging Voters
Many jurisdictions have aggressively purged their voter rolls, often mistakenly eliminating voters and effectively denying them the right to vote. -
Jail Disenfranchisement
People held in jail awaiting trial are routinely disenfranchised, even though they are innocent until proven guilty and have full voting rights. -
1 of every 13
African Americans has lost their voting rights due to felony disenfranchisement. Compared to 1 in 56 non-Black voters.