Voting Rights
The right to vote has been called the “crown jewel” of American liberties. Lawyers for Civil Rights has actively worked to enhance this right since the 1970s. Our advocacy has included voting rights litigation and initiatives that have served historically disenfranchised communities throughout the Commonwealth. LCR’s Voting Rights Project consists of three focus areas of voter protection, litigation, and advocacy, which are designed to effectively channel resources and focus our efforts to achieve equality and protect advances in voting rights for racial and ethnic minorities and other traditionally disenfranchised groups.
Some of our efforts in these areas include:
- Election Protection: We coordinate the largest non-partisan voter protection campaign in Massachusetts. In the 2016 presidential election, we trained and coordinated over 500 volunteers to monitor polling sites across the Commonwealth. We also provided real-time support to voters through our Election Protection Hotline (866-OUR-VOTE).
- Voting rights litigation:
- Huot et al. v. City of Lowell et al.: Federal lawsuit challenging the at-large electoral system for electing Lowell’s City Council and School Committee, which dilutes the vote of communities of color in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.
- Black Political Task Force v. Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth: Challenge to redrawing the Commonwealth’s House of Representative electoral districts in a way that diluted the votes of communities of color in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
- Arise for Social Justice v. City of Springfield: Challenge to the at-large City Council and School Committee voting structure that systematically eliminated minority candidates from the electoral process and diluted the votes of communities of color in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
- NAACP v. Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth: successful lawsuit against the Commonwealth and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance for violating their federally-mandated responsibilities to offer tens of thousands of public assistance recipients opportunities to register to vote in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
- Legislative Advocacy: In conjunction with our community partners, the Lawyers’ Committee has testified in support of numerous election modernization initiatives pending before the state legislature.
News and Resources
Jan 07, 21
Response to the White Supremacist CoupDec 18, 20
Statement on Supreme Court’s Decision in Trump v. New YorkNov 30, 20
2020 Annual ReportNov 17, 20
Immigrants to Census Bureau: We’re Here and We CountNov 16, 20
Democratizing Redistricting in 2021Nov 11, 20
Open Letter to Biden/Harris Transition TeamNov 04, 20
The Repair Work Begins NowOct 29, 20
Shenanigans on Election Day?Sep 14, 20
Boston Must Provide More Drop-Boxes for the ElectionSep 03, 20
Election Protection Coalition Flags Vote-by-Mail IssuesAug 14, 20
Victory! Khmer Vote-By-Mail ApplicationsAug 04, 20
Volunteer for Election ProtectionJul 31, 20
State Fails to Send Khmer Vote-By-Mail ApplicationsJul 28, 20
Undocumented Immigrants to Trump: We Are People and We CountJul 20, 20
Victory! Massachusetts Starts Sending Mail-In Ballot ApplicationsJul 13, 20
Minority Voters Sue To Secure Mail-In Ballot ApplicationsJul 06, 20
Drawing District Lines In Lowell: Protecting The Right To Vote For Communities Of ColorMay 29, 20
Coronavirus Pandemic Response