Voting Rights

Subscribe to Voting Rights via RSS

In partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project (ACLU VRP) and the ACLU of South Carolina, Proskauer filed a lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP of South Carolina and individual South Carolina voters seeking to enjoin three South Carolina voting laws that restrict absentee voting and voter assistance. South Carolina’s restrictions are similar to laws enacted by several other states, but the new South Carolina laws conflict with—and thus are pre-empted by—federal law, specifically by Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended (VRA), which provides that voters who are blind, disabled, or unable to read or write can obtain assistance from a person of their choosing when voting.

As Proskauer’s Pro Bono Counsel, Michelle Moriarty not only manages the pro bono program but also participates in some of the Firm’s most impactful pro bono projects. She has volunteered on the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law’s Election Protection hotline for years and will be a hotline captain for this year’s election cycle. Michelle recently caught up with associate Elliot Stevens, who will serve as one of Proskauer’s hotline leads this year, and associate Matt Westbrook, another hotline captain, to discuss their experiences fielding voter calls over the last few weeks.

To signal the official launch of Proskauer’s 2024 Election Protection efforts, Proskauer hosted a panel presentation on voting rights.

With a presidential election coming up this fall, protecting the right to vote has never been more important. Proskauer’s panel event highlighted numerous present threats to American democracy, including voter suppression…

Bloomberg and Proskauer are sponsoring Equal Justice Works Fellow Clay Pierce, who will work at the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project. Clay, a recent graduate of Columbia Law School, will work to advance voting rights for people with disabilities who are adversely affected by state laws that limit and criminalize voter assistance.

On December 7, 2023, a team of Proskauer attorneys joined the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”), the ACLU of Delaware, and attorneys from Shaw Keller LLP in filing a complaint against the state of Delaware on behalf of the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network (“PLAN”) to protect the Constitutional right to vote for incarcerated individuals.

Proskauer teams recently submitted amicus briefs in two critical voting rights cases, which are becoming increasingly important in the runup to the 2024 U.S. elections. On August 18, 2023, Proskauer submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court on behalf of 30 historians and legal scholars specializing in the history of the Southern U.S. with a focus on South Carolina, race relations and election laws. The brief was submitted in support of appellees in Alexander v. The South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. Then, on September 25, 2023, Proskauer filed— on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU Foundation of Florida, the Brennan Center for Justice, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund— an amicus brief in the Third District Court of Appeal of Florida in support of the appellee in the case of State of Florida v. Miller.