The Power of the Ballot: Lawyers need to be at the forefront in encouraging all citizens to vote

The American Bar Association will mobilize resources and urge lawyers to encourage voting and get involved as poll workers.

Oct 1, 2016 4:30 AM CDT

Law banning ballot selfies violates First Amendment, federal appeals court says

A federal appeals court has overturned a law that banned New Hampshire voters from taking and posting selfies of their marked ballots. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (PDF) on Wednesday that the law violated the First Amendment. “Ballot selfies have taken on a special communicative value:…

Sep 29, 2016 2:53 PM CDT

Judge allows class action claiming State Farm secretly orchestrated Illinois justice’s campaign

A federal judge in Illinois has certified a class action that claims State Farm lied about its financial support of a state supreme court candidate who won election and voted to reverse a $1.05 billion judgment against the insurer. U.S. District Judge David Herndon approved class-action status for the suit…

Sep 21, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Florida AG says she doesn’t regret accepting campaign money during NY probe of Trump University

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday said she doesn’t regret taking a $25,000 campaign contribution from Donald Trump when her counterpart in New York was investigating Trump University and her own office was receiving complaints about similar practices, the Associated Press reports. And she had no regrets about keeping…

Sep 20, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

States can’t require proof of citizenship for federal elections, DC Circuit rules

State laws that require voters to show proof of citizenship for federal elections were blocked Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Georgia, Alabama and Kansas had the laws, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The lawsuit was filed after Brian Newby, executive director of the…

Sep 13, 2016 9:42 AM CDT

Straight-ticket voting will be allowed in Michigan after SCOTUS denies stay

Straight-ticket voting in Michigan will be allowed in the upcoming election after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday refused to issue a stay requested by the state. The U.S. Supreme Court’s stay refusal (PDF) leaves intact a federal judge’s decision temporarily blocking a law that banned straight-ticket voting in the…

Sep 9, 2016 2:06 PM CDT

Suit claims Alabama’s at-large method of electing judges violates Voting Rights Act

A lawsuit filed on Wednesday alleges Alabama’s at-large method of electing appellate judges violates the Voting Rights Act because it deprives black voters of the opportunity to elect judges of their choice. Alabama has 19 judges on the state supreme court and two intermediate appeals courts, and all of them…

Sep 7, 2016 12:11 PM CDT

Trump says he didn’t speak with Florida AG Bondi about his foundation’s $25K donation

Donald Trump on Monday said he never spoke with Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi about his charitable foundation’s $25,000 donation to a political group with ties to Bondi. The donation by the Donald J. Trump Foundation was made before Bondi considered whether to join New York state’s investigation of Trump…

Sep 6, 2016 10:43 AM CDT

Suits seek to block Arkansas referendum that would cap attorney fees and damages in medical cases

Two lawsuits filed this week seek to block an Arkansas ballot referendum that would cap noneconomic damages and attorney fees in medical injury cases with a state constitutional amendment. On Monday, two Arkansas residents filed a lawsuit claiming the referendum should be tossed from the ballot because its title is…

Sep 2, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

North Carolina’s request to use strict voting law fails in SCOTUS tie vote

In a 4-4 vote on Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a request by North Carolina to use its strict voter ID law in the November election. Five votes were needed to stay a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the law, report the Washington Post, the…

Sep 1, 2016 10:06 AM CDT

Finding the Better Way: Focus for the year will highlight ABA members, veterans, voting, education

Sep 1, 2016 4:20 AM CDT

10 Questions Live: How Kristen Clarke is fighting voter suppression

With Election Day drawing ever nearer, Kristen Clarke and her co-workers are gearing up to make sure that no eligible voter is turned away from the polls. Clarke is president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington, D.C.-based group that was formed in…

Aug 25, 2016 4:30 PM CDT

Some Kentucky restrictions on judicial-campaign speech violate First Amendment, 6th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has struck down some restrictions on what Kentucky judicial candidates can say while running for political office. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday in a unanimous panel opinion (PDF) by Circuit Judge Jeffrey Sutton. How Appealing notes the decision. The opinion…

Aug 24, 2016 3:30 PM CDT

7th Circuit blocks judge who would have allowed voting without ID in Wisconsin

A federal appeals court has blocked a federal judge’s injunction that would allow people in Wisconsin without identification to vote by signing an affidavit. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed the injunction by U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman of Milwaukee pending an appeal in the…

Aug 11, 2016 11:45 AM CDT

ABA House calls for clearer election standards: ‘Let us not return to 2000’

In a contentious election year, the ABA’s House of Delegates recalled the surprising and tense election of 2000. “Let us not return to 2000, when we saw well-meaning judges … struggle with the process of determining voter intent because the state in that case had not enacted predetermined standards,” said…

Aug 8, 2016 2:50 PM CDT