UPDATE (11/06/2018):
Florida: Amendment 4 passes, restoring voting rights to most people convicted of felonies after the full completion of the terms of their sentences. This constitutional amendment affects some 1.4 million people. Until Tuesday night, Florida was one of just four states where individuals convicted of felonies were disenfranchised for life. Now its voters are responsible for the single biggest expansion of the franchise since the passage of the 26th Amendment in 1971.
Michigan: Proposal 3 passes, modernizing the state’s voting system for the first time since 1975. The ballot initiative amends the state constitution to automatically register voters; allow voters to register at any time, up to and including on Election Day; expand access to absentee ballots; allow for straight-ticket party voting; and ensure those in the military get their ballots with enough time to ensure their vote is counted.
Nevada: Question 5, the automatic voter registration initiative, passes.
Maryland: Question 2, which allows qualified individuals to register and vote at their polling location on Election Day, passes.
The fourth Tuesday of September every year is , a day organizations across the country focus attention on the importance of registering to vote and participating in our democracy. In some states, however, voting and registration rules, which have reduced participation in elections and not kept up with advances in technology, need a significant overhaul.
This November, ballot initiatives in four states — Michigan, Florida, Nevada, and Maryland — seek to address this problem. If successful, these initiatives may allow more than a million additional citizens to register and have their voices heard on Election Day.
In Michigan, a state that has not adopted a substantial voting modernization since 1975 and in which the last presidential election was decided by just less than 11,000 votes, Proposal 3 was recently approved for November’s ballot. Proposal 3, if passed, will amend the state constitution to automatically register voters; allow voters to register any time, up to and including on Election Day; require post-election audits; expand access to absentee ballots; allow for straight-ticket party voting; and ensure those in the military get their ballots with enough time to ensure their vote is counted. The proposal is led by , a campaign launched by ACLU of Michigan along with the NAACP and League of Women Voters.
Florida is one of only four states with a lifetime ban on voting for individuals with felony convictions, even after they have paid their debt in full. Currently, 1.4 million Floridians have completed all terms of their sentence as ordered by a judge, including probation and parole. However, these individuals are not eligible to register and vote unless they go through a long and difficult process to restore their voting rights.
To fix Florida's broken system, ACLU of Florida has partnered with the campaign to pass Amendment 4 to the state constitution. Floridians can earn back their eligibility to vote after they have completed all terms of their sentence as ordered by a judge. Those convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses would be excluded. This amendment would allow Floridians who have made a past mistake and fully paid their debt to society to have the opportunity to participate in and give back to their communities.
In Nevada, voters will have an opportunity to support Question 5, the automatic voter registration initiative. have some form of automatic voter registration in place. By enacting automatic voter registration, these states have improved their registration rates, created more secure voting systems, and increased civic engagement.
Lastly, in Maryland, voters will have an opportunity to pass an , which would allow qualified individuals to register and vote at their polling location on Election Day. States with Election Day voter registration see an average of in presidential years than states without it, and studies have found that people of color, young people, and low-income individuals especially benefit from this reform.
These ballot initiatives will help remove barriers and ensure that eligible individuals are able to participate in our democracy. For more information on how to get involved with expanding voting rights and to find your voter registration deadline, visit .
This content is paid for by American Civil Liberties Union, Inc., 125 Broad Street, New York, New York, 10004. Authorized by and provided in-kind to Promote the Vote, to Floridians for a Fair Democracy, and to Nevadans for Secure Elections.
Learn More About the Issues on This Page
-
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Civil Liberties
We Need to Know More About State Supreme Court CasesWe Need to Know More About State Supreme Court Cases
State Supreme Courts interpret laws that impact some of the most intimate parts of our lives. Communities have a right to know what’s on the docket. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
Civil Liberties
New ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency MeasuresNew ACLU Report Reveals Most State Supreme Courts Fail to Meet Key Transparency Measures
NEW YORK — Nearly half of all state supreme courts across the country fail to regularly post new cases they are considering, with only six meeting four key transparency measures already implemented by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a new report published today by the American Civil Liberties Union. The report identifies significant steps that state supreme courts should take to inform the public about their cases, which have only grown in importance as the federal judiciary has become more hostile to protecting core rights and advocates have turned to state protections and state court litigation in response. Based on an analysis of the practices and policies of the highest courts in each state, including D.C., the report “Scorecard for State Supreme Court Transparency: How Does Your State Stack Up?” ranks each state supreme court in five tiers based on compliance with four key transparency measures. These measures include posting new cases online in a timely manner, providing timely information about legal issues presented by cases, making dockets accessible and free for the public, and making merits briefing accessible and free for the public. “State courts regularly hear — and are the final word on — cases affecting abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, and more. Yet, in many instances, the highest state courts do not provide meaningful public access to information about cases affecting the rights and liberties of millions of people. We urge state supreme courts to bring more transparency to the critical work they do,” said Julie Murray, co-director of the ACLU’s State Supreme Court Initiative. “In the face of a federal judiciary increasingly unwilling to protect core rights and an incoming administration that threatens to exacerbate that problem, state courts are an important defense for our liberty. They should be leaders in transparency, too,” said Bridget Lavender, Skadden Fellow with the Initiative. The report emphasizes that state courts “play an outsized role” in many parts of the law, but their ability to “guard our liberties depends in significant part on whether those courts adopt transparent processes.” It further highlights that state supreme courts have led the way on enormously consequential decisions in recent years. In particular, some state supreme courts have recognized the right of same sex couples to marry, and did so long before federal courts. They have also declared the death penalty unconstitutional under state law despite contrary federal law, protected access to reproductive health care as a right even as that right was being stripped away at the federal level, and provided more robust protection to people subject to unreasonable searches and seizures. The report urges state supreme courts to take action to improve their transparency practices, taking notes from the courts that have already implemented these measures. It notes that regularly posting new cases and the issues they represent, and providing timely access to dockets and merits briefing allows the public, the press, and the legal community to track cases as they unfold, identify cases with statewide consequences, and understand what’s at stake. -
Press ReleaseNov 2024
National Security
+2 Issues
ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political EnemiesACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies
WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union strongly urges the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which would grant Donald Trump and his handpicked secretary of the Treasury power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization — including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups — by stripping them of tax-exempt status based on an unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. “Passing this bill would hand the incoming Trump administration a dangerous new tool it could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups,” said Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU. “The freedom to dissent without fear of government retribution is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy, which is why Congress must block H.R. 9495 before it’s too late.” While there is a 90-day “cure” period in which a designated nonprofit can mount a defense, it is a mere illusion of due process. The government may deny organizations its reasons and evidence against them, leaving the nonprofit unable to rebut allegations. This means that a nonprofit could be left entirely in the dark about what conduct the government believes qualifies as "support," making it virtually impossible to clear its name. Last month, the ACLU and a diverse array of over 130 other tax-exempt organizations — including human rights, reproductive health, and immigrants’ rights groups — wrote to Congress urging them to vote no. The letter also explains that the groups do not oppose the provisions in H.R. 9495 that relate to preventing the IRS from imposing fines and penalties on hostages while they are held abroad. Indeed, these provisions have already passed the Senate on their own, and if the House of Representatives were to pass a version of this bill that did not include the text of H.R. 6408, it could be sent immediately to President Biden for his signature. -
News & CommentaryNov 2024
Civil Liberties
Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.Donald Trump Will Return to the White House in January. The ACLU is Ready.
Starting in 2016, the ACLU filed more than 400 legal actions against Trump and his administration. As Trump returns to the White House, we’re ready to return to the courts and Congress to fight for our civil liberties.