An Overview of Voting Rights Litigation & The 2018 Midterm Elections

This program, taught by Julie A. Ebenstein, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project, will provide an overview of election laws and policies that resulted in litigation just prior to the 2018 election, the court outcomes, and trends in courts’ responses to suppressive laws and policies. The course will look at states with numerous objectionable policies, close elections, and increased litigation efforts, such as Georgia and Florida, and consider whether voter suppression influenced those elections. It will also include a discussion of how 2018 election administration policies and the related court decisions are likely to re-emerge in the lead up to the 2020 election.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review voter suppression efforts since the Shelby County decision in 2013
2. Assess voting barriers affecting the 2018 election
3. Discuss the court challenges and decisions leading up to the 2018 midterm election
4. Consider how the experience in 2018 will influence the 2020 election