Expanding Access to the Ballot
We’re working to restore the right to vote to returning citizens across the Deep South and ensure that their voices are not silenced by requirements to pay off court debt or other burdensome restoration procedures. We’re working to expand access to the ballot for voters historically targeted and harmed by voter suppression efforts—voters of color, voters with disabilities, low-income, young, elderly, and transient voters—by fighting illegal voter purges, ensuring that ballots are counted, and protecting accessibility at polling places. We’re fighting against onerous registration and strict ballot requirements designed to decrease voter participation and working to promote legislative and policy reforms that eliminate unnecessary and burdensome restrictions for all eligible electors.
Redistricting, Gerrymandering, and the 2020 Census
We’re engaging with communities to highlight the importance of an accurate count in the 2020 Census. We are also working to empower communities in the Deep South to get involved in the state and local redistricting process to prevent all forms of gerrymandering, whether they be partisan, racial, or prison-based.
Election Administration
We’re engaging in policy reform to expand access to the democratic process in the Deep South and promote common sense policies such as automatic voter registration, same-day registration, no-excuse absentee voting, vote by mail, and the expansion or establishment of early voting. We’re ensuring that southern states comply with the requirements of federal laws like the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act and do not illegally remove voters from the rolls.
Community Outreach & Engagement
We’ve launched voter registration and mobilization campaigns to ensure that voters have their voices heard in local, state, and federal elections. We’re coordinating with Election Protection and Prepared to Vote to ensure that voters going to the polls are not disenfranchised. We’ve also partnered with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta in a Vote Your Voice initiative that will make up to $100 million in grants available to Deep South organizations so they can build capacity and scale up their voter outreach and civic engagement efforts.
The Voting Rights Practice Group works in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Photo by Chuck Burton/AP Images
