ELC IN NEWS
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Fighting for Wisconsin voters’ power
In Clarke v. Wisconsin, the Harvard Law Election Law Clinic fought to restore voting power to Wisconsin residents – and won. The state’s highest court agreed with the clinic’s argument: Wisconsin’s gerrymandered state legislative maps were non-contiguous, diluting the voting power of the state’s residents and preventing fair representation.
No clear frontrunner in proposed Wisconsin legislative maps, but plenty of angst
A series of proposed legislative maps submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday would create some of the most competitive races for the Legislature in over a decade, according to a redistricting expert’s analysis.
Op-Ed: Local Elections Enshrined for the People
A study conducted by the Harvard Election Law Clinic, where researchers analyzed 16 New York counties, including Sullivan, Ulster, Orange, and Rockland, found that off-cycle (odd-year) elections significantly depressed voter turnout. This was true for all voters, but especially for voters of color and younger voters.
RPV Near Me – Updated with Asian and American Indian/Alaska Native Estimates
The tool, RPVNearMe (developed by the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School and Christopher T. Kenny) provides estimates of racially polarized voting for every county in the country. Note that the tool only offers estimates for certain statewide and federal elections — i.e., not the local appraisal you would need for VRA litigation — but it still gives a guide to possible coalition voting.
Liberals fight Republican attempt to boot Wisconsin Supreme Court justice from redistricting case
“Unhappy with this electoral result, which they could not prevent through gerrymandering, (Republicans) now seek to nullify the results and pick their Justices,” said the filing from Law Forward, a Madison-based liberal law firm, the Stafford Rosenbaum law firm, Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, Campaign Legal Center, and the Arnold & Porter law firm.
Experts skeptical of Alabama’s redistricting strategy ahead of critical hearing
“When that’s done at the expense of Black voters, that’s not a sufficient reason, and that can’t overcome the requirements of the Voting Rights Act,” said Theresa Lee, litigation director and clinical instructor in the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School.
Gerrymandering petition filed with Wisconsin Supreme Court
Less than 24 hours after the official swearing in of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, the high court is already seeing a challenge of the state’s partisan election maps.
Liberal Law Firm Challenges Wisconsin Maps A Day After The State Courts Gains A Liberal Majority
Ruth Greenwood, the Director of Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, says Wiscsonsin’s extreme gerrymandering means that voters’ voices are lost. Greenwood says it removes the choice in elections
A day after Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control, this lawsuit challenging legislative maps was filed
MADISON, Wis. — Just one day after the ideological balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped in favor of liberal-leaning justices, a lawsuit has been filed over the state’s legislative maps as progressive groups argue the boundaries are gerrymandered.
Supreme Court Lifts Temporary Halt on Federal Lawsuit Challenging Louisiana’s Discriminatory Congressional Map
The U.S. Supreme Court today lifted a temporary halt on a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s discriminatory congressional map. The action sends the case, Robinson v. Ardoin, down to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for further consideration…In March 2022, the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, and individuals Press Robinson, Dorothy Nairne, E. René Soulé, Alice Washington, and Clee Ernest Lowe filed the lawsuit challenging the Louisiana congressional plan. The plaintiffs are represented by the Legal Defense Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Louisiana, Harvard Election Law Clinic, Louisiana attorneys John Adcock and Tracie Washington, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.
Ruling in Alabama case could boost suits increasing Black voters’ power in other states
And the Harvard Law professor Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a prominent redistricting expert, said in an email that Thursday’s ruling could make it harder for Republicans to wipe out a congressional district where Black voters have a chance to elect their preferred candidate in eastern North Carolina, which is set to conduct redistricting later this year.
Washington Supreme Court Upholds the State’s Voting Rights Act
As Ruth Greenwood, director of Harvard Law School’s Election Law Clinic — and counsel for amici curiae in support of the Latino voters — previously explained to Democracy Docket: “[State-level VRAs] are one of our best hopes, short of federal legislation, to fight back against the U.S. Supreme Court’s hostility to federal voting rights’ claims.”
ACLU’s Dale Ho Confirmed to New York-Based US District Court
“His career really reflects his dedication to the Constitution and its protections, and really, his entire legal practice has been dedicated to ensuring people’s rights to representation,” Theresa Lee, litigation director at the Harvard Election Law Clinic who worked with Ho at the ACLU Voting Rights Project.
Supreme Court’s Alabama ruling delivers Democrats an unexpected boost
Nicholas Stephanopoulos, a professor of election law at Harvard Law School, called the ruling “a truly, truly stunning development” and “the most unexpected voting rights development” in 30 years.