Posted: September 11, 2008
ACLU Sues Over Voter Registration in Rhode Island
Rhode Island Affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit yesterday (9/11) against the state Board of Elections (see our coverage here). Rhode Island is one of the few states in the country that allows for same day voter registration. R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-1-3 permits people who have not registered to vote to appear at their city or town hall and cast a vote in a presidential election. The Rhode Island Board of Elections has adopted a new administrative regulation that allows towns and cities to designate a different location for this same day voter registration procedure if "voting in a city or town hall has become impracticable due to inadequacy of the available facilities or other concerns." The issue in the lawsuit is whether this newly adopted administrative regulation impermissibly conflicts with the Rhode Island statutory provisions.
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Commentary
Arizona: Voter Registration and the Road Ahead
Justin Levitt
June arrived with two election law cases at the Supreme Court. One is still pending: a highly anticipated decision on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The other, more frequently overlooked, was decided yesterday. And there are some quirks of the opinion that seem to depart from the swiftly congealing conventional wisdom that the states might actually have "won," and now need only run out the clock.
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