Voting Rights and Elections
Nearly every state constitution includes an explicit right to vote, and many state constitutions have “free election” provisions, as well as provisions relating to redistricting, voter eligibility and registration, ballots access, and more. State constitutions also guarantee equal protection, speech, assembly, and other rights. State constitutions have taken on greater significance in the aftermath of Rucho v. Common Cause, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution cannot be used to address partisan gerrymandering, and a series of Supreme Court decisions limiting voters’ rights under the 14th and 15th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act.
State supreme courts around the country are being presented with challenges to voting district maps that are gerrymandered along partisan or racial and ethnic lines, litigation regarding ballot initiatives and ballot access, and challenges to laws that restrict voter eligibility or access, including reduced voting hours, felony disenfranchisement, or onerous voter identification requirements.
Filters
The Quiet Campaign Against Direct Democracy
As citizens have increasingly employed their powers to make or change law, state officials have used a variety of tactics to make doing so more difficult.
What This Year's U.S. Supreme Court Term Means for State Courts
The Court’s decisions on religious liberties, transgender rights, gun restrictions, and more have significant implications for state lawmakers, courts, and constitutions.
Kansas Vote Could Lead to Wisconsin-Level Spending in Judicial Elections
Kansans will decide in August on an amendment that would change how judges are selected, a vote that could bring a surge of special interest spending and unwanted political pressure on judges.
The Arkansas Constitution: A Diamond in the Rough?
Its origins are tainted and its performance mixed, but the 1874 document allows Arkansans to intervene in governance.
Missouri Appeals Court Upholds Order Blocking Abortion Restrictions
The ruling is the latest in a long-running saga over abortion access following voters’ 2024 approval of a state constitutional reproductive-rights amendment.
The Wisconsin Constitution: Initial Adoption Fights and a Veto Power That’s Still Contested
The charter is a guide for safeguarding the state’s aim of self-determination.
Florida Courts and Politicians Ignored the People’s Message
Lawmakers are rigging districts for their own political purposes, and state courts are letting it happen.
Alabama’s New Maps Could Violate a Covid-Era Clause in the State Constitution
A 2022 amendment, proposed by Republicans as a reaction to the loosening of absentee voting requirements during the pandemic, forbids election changes less than six months before Election Day.