Resources

The following is our recommended list of Resources. Our list compiles select writings by leading academics, organizers, journalists, and litigators on topics relevant to the Right to Vote Initiative, including right-to-vote amendment language and the history of the right to vote and race.  We also feature webinars and other up-to-date resources.

February 26, 2018

Opinion: Louisiana court should protect the 1974 Constitution and give probationers, paroles the right to vote The Advocate -- Opinion piece by Professors Andrea Armstrong and Johanna Kalb

Louisianans who are currently on probation or parole have the right to vote under our state constitution. As professors of constitutional law, we urge the court to uphold this fundamental right and allow every eligible Louisianan to participate in our democracy.

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February 4, 2018

The Atlantic: The ‘Slave Power’ Behind Florida’s Felon Disenfranchisement

Laws barring the formerly incarcerated from voting have no business marring politics in a 21st century democracy.

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January 29, 2018

How the GOP Rigs Elections Jan. 24, 2018

With combination of gerrymandering, voter-ID laws, dark money, Republicans have tipped political scales. Will it keep Democrats from victory in 2018?

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January 29, 2018

Millions of ex-cons lost their right to vote. Now they might get it back. NBC News Jan. 28, 2018

“But Virginia is one of 12 states that bars ex-offenders from voting even after their sentences are complete. In order for ballot access to be restored, these states require waiting periods, an application process, or action from the state’s governor. McAuliffe used his executive authority to individually reinstate voting rights to some 173,000 ex-offenders, including Turner, before leaving office in January.”

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January 29, 2018

What’s the best way to fix our broken democracy? Lean on state courts and constitutions LA Times Jan. 23, 2018

“The U.S. Constitution is less specific. It instead says that states cannot discriminate in voting based on various characteristics such as race, sex, age or inability to pay a poll tax. And the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states must confer voting rights on an equal basis under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. But nowhere does the U.S. Constitution affirmatively grant the right to vote.”

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