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.
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New Jersey’s Constitution Allowed Women to Vote in the 1700s
Though the right was short-lived, it’s an example of how states can expand — and contract — voting rights.
The Lawsuits to Expel Texas’s Democratic Lawmakers Lack Any Support
The governor and attorney general’s claims that the state supreme court should expel lawmakers who fled the state to stop the legislature from gerrymandering congressional districts are unsubstantiated and contradictory.
American Indians and Indigenous Peoples in State Constitutions
In the shadow of federal law, some state constitutions address American Indian land, taxation, gaming permissions, voting rights, cultural protection, and governance.
Disability Rights Under State Constitutions
Thirty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, state constitutional anti-discrimination clauses, voting rights, and educational guarantees can expand protections for people with disabilities.
Florida High Court to Hear Case Alleging Congressional Map Is Racially Discriminatory
Voting rights groups say Gov. Ron DeSantis designed a map that purposely harmed Black voters.
The Alabama Constitution: Despite a Century of Updates, Traces of its Racist Past Linger
The constitution’s extensive amendments and inclusion of local government rules make Alabama’s constitution the country’s longest
The Puerto Rico Constitution: A Unique Territorial Framework
Though the island’s territorial constitution offers unique provisions and a focus on human rights, Congress still exerts plenary powers over Puerto Rico.
State Politicians Broaden Attacks on Direct Democracy
Multiple state legislatures have taken steps to make it more difficult for citizens to amend their laws.