The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog » Political Participation

Indiana Top Official Convicted of Voter Fraud

The Editors — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:08:47 +0000

By The Editors
An Indiana jury Saturday convicted the state’s top elections official the top elections official in the state, has been convicted of voter fraud and five other felony charges including perjury and theft.

Obama on Google Plus – Ahead of the Curve Again?

The Editors — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:46:04 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
Has Barack Obama, who schooled the nation four years ago in how to use the social media to build a political movement just shown us again that he’s ahead of the curve in wedding his political ideals and persona with the new communications technology and thinking to connect with people at an individual level – and, even more important, have them feel they’ve connected with him?

The Quest for Peace and Justice: The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture

The Editors — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:01:21 +0000

By Martin Luther King, Jr.
There is a sort of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have become materially, the poorer we have become morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.

Holder Is Right About Carolina Voting Law

The Editors — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:36:03 +0000

LDF, the National Urban League and the NAACP respond to a Wall Street Journal editorial criticizing the Justice Department challenge of South Carolina's new voter ID law.

The ‘Wisdom’ of the Conventional Political Wisdom

The Editors — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:24:22 +0000

By The Editors
Despite the continuing disarray in the GOP candidate field many on the political Right are still confidently predicting whoever the Republican candidate turns out to be, he will beat President Obama in November.

Holder Pledges Vigorous Effort to Defend Voting Rights

The Editors — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:50:27 +0000

By The Editors
Addressing what he said was “a consistent drumbeat of concern from many Americans,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Tuesday pledged that the government will vigorously oppose measures and schemes designed to prevent registered voters from voting next year, whether they come in the form of direct challenges to core provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or are couched in measures ostensibly meant to prevent voter fraud.

LDF and NAACP Release Report on Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights

The Editors — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:16:53 +0000

The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and the NAACP have been tracking the rising tide of legislative measures designed to block access to the polls for voters of color. What our research has uncovered is a cause for grave concern: a coordinated and comprehensive assault has been launched against our voting rights.

Gingrich, Ph.D as Candidate: More Schooling Needed

The Editors — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:45:00 +0000

By Kenneth J. Cooper
In academia, Gingrich topped out as an assistant professor of history and geography at a third-tier state school...Someone once wrote he has a “Reader’s Digest intellect.”

LDF Celebrates 25th Annual Gala Award Dinner

The Editors — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 21:34:53 +0000

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund celebrated its 25th annual National Equal Justice Award Dinner (NEJAD) last week in New York City. The event raised nearly $2.5 million dollar for LDF's mission and programs.

NYT Ltr. to the Editor: A New Way to Achieve Civil Rights?

The Editors — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:20:13 +0000

By John Payton
Editor’s Note -- The President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund takes issue in a letter to the New York Times of November 2 with a recent op-ed dismissing the effectiveness of recent civil rights litigation.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Militant of the Century

The Editors — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:34:41 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
I suspect that one thing the huge stone sculpture of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Memorial dedicated to him Sunday in a quiet, contemplative corner of the National Mall will do for many visitors is help bring him to life.

We Worked With Martin

The Editors — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:52:17 +0000

Editor’s Note: Forty-eight years and two months after his speech for the ages, the voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. will once again ring out over the National Mall in the nation’s capitol this Sunday as the memorial to him is dedicated. The attorneys who staffed the NAACP legal Defense and Educational Fund during the [...]

Gov. Brown Signs Law Ending California Prison-Based Gerrymandering

The Editors — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:58:07 +0000

By The Editors
California Gov. Jerry Brown Friday signed legislation ending prison-based gerrymandering in the state.

The ‘Crazy’ Life of Rev. Joseph Lowery

The Editors — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:15:00 +0000

By George E. Curry Rev. Joseph Lowery is a civil rights icon. He participated in all of the epic civil rights battles of his day, including the Montgomery, Ala. bus boycott, the violent showdown with “Bull” Connor in Birmingham, the Selma-to-Montgomery March and the famous 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. He was [...]

WNYC: State’s second highest court hears arguments in prisoner redistricting case

The Editors — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:33:47 +0000

By Colby Hamilton of WNYC.ORG
The New York Supreme Court heard oral arguments yesterday in the lawsuit to overturn a law passed by the 2010 Democratic legislative majority that would count prison inmates in the communities they are from, instead of in the towns and counties where they’re incarcerated.

Black Voters and the Black (and White) Conservative Shuffle

The Editors — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 16:14:37 +0000

By Lee A. Daniels
Herman Cain, fresh from his surprise victory over Texas Governor Rick Perry in the Florida Republican Party straw poll, charged on CNN Wednesday that “African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view."

LDF Successfully Defends the Constitutionality of the Heart of the VRA

The Editors — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:31:58 +0000

On Wednesday, for the second time, a federal court in Washington, D.C. upheld the constitutionality of the heart of the 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.

A Challenging Decision on Felon Disfranchisement and Voting Rights

The Editors — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:29:42 +0000

A ruling last year on Farrakhan v. Locke by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed earlier court rulings and set forth a new, nearly insurmountable standard for lawsuits attacking felon disfranchisement policies.

Ryan P. Haygood, Director of the Political Participation Group of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, explored the implications of the court’s ruling in a recent issue of the Columbia Law Review.

“New State Voting Laws: Barriers to the Ballot”

The Editors — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:22:34 +0000

This week, Ryan Haygood, Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Political Participation Group, offered testimony at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights that addressed a wave of laws that erect barriers to the ballot box.

LDF Testifies At New York Redistricting Hearing

The Editors — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:59:58 +0000

This week, Natasha Korgaonkar, Assistant Counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) testified at a redistricting hearing before New York’s Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR).

LDF Moves to Intervene on behalf of Florida NAACP and African-American Voters in Voting Rights Case

The Editors — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:49:58 +0000

This week, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) filed a motion seeking to intervene in a lawsuit on behalf of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and African-American voters to prevent the State of Florida from implementing discriminatory voting laws.

President Obama Proposes Bold American Jobs Act

The Editors — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 19:19:08 +0000

By George E. Curry
President Obama discarded his carefully-crafted image of Compromiser-in-Chief Thursday night by proposing a surprisingly bold American Jobs Act that calls for nearly $500 billion in federal spending and tax cuts to jolt the sagging U.S. economy.

Legal Defense Fund Applauds Legislation Ending Prison-Based Gerrymandering in California

The Editors — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:36:04 +0000

By LDF
(New York) -- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) applauds the California State Legislature for passing legislation to end prison-based gerrymandering in California, and Assembly Member Mike Davis, who sponsored the bill.

Dale Ho and Peter Wagner: Let’s get redistricting right next time

The Editors — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:29:17 +0000

By Dale Ho and Peter Wagner via the LA Daily News
Prison-based gerrymandering is no trivial matter. There are more than 2 million incarcerated people in America, a total population larger than that of 15 individual states, and larger than our three smallest states combined. If they were a state, the incarcerated population would qualify for five votes in the Electoral College. Where they are counted has tremendous implications for the shape of our democracy.

Captive Constituents: Prison-Based Gerrymandering and the Current Redistricting Cycle

The Editors — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:28:45 +0000

Prison-based gerrymandering distorts the meaning and reality of democracy and undermines efforts to build fairness into the current redistricting process.