Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #shelbycounty

In 1943, LDF founder Thurgood Marshall argued before the Supreme Court in Smith v. Allwright. This #voting rights case was a watershed for Black rights and signaled the beginning of the civil rights movement. Marshall considered it his "greatest" case. #HBD #MrCivilRights

The question at the heart of this case was whether state parties prohibiting Black voters from exercising their freedoms in the primary elections violated the 14th and 15th amendments. #SCOTUS found that it did. As a result of this case, Black voter registration skyrocketed.

Of course, Smith v. Allwright was only one step. Ugly displays of voter suppression still mar our elections. The floodgates have opened to a torrent of voter suppression since the #ShelbyCounty decision in 2013 and today's #COVID19 pandemic has only exacerbated these issues.

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@NAACP_LDF

In May, @NAACP_LDF, @splcenter, and @AlabamaADAP filed a suit to prevent AL absentee voters from having to abide by onerous photo ID laws that could unnecessarily expose them to COVID-19.

naacpldf.org/press-release/…

🚨BREAKING #VOTING RIGHTS VICTORY 🚨
Today, on the 7th anniversary of #ShelbyCounty & just in time for the July primary, we won our suit. Alabama can no longer force its burdensome witness & photo ID laws upon absentee voters in certain counties.

naacpldf.org/wp-content/upl…

@NAACP_LDF

“The 11th Circuit's decision means hundreds of thousands of Alabama voters will be able to safely exercise their constitutional right to vote."

-@NAACP_LDF Senior Counsel Natasha Merle (@natashacmerle)

Read the full statement: ldf.news/2A3ynlI

In 2013, Shelby County v. Holder stripped the preclearance requirement from the Voting Rights Act. Over the last 7 years, as a direct result of the decision, voter suppression schemes designed to abridge the rights of voters of color have been unleashed upon our elections. #OTD

Why was preclearance so important?

Section 5 of the VRA mandated jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to obtain approval before changing voting rules. This process allowed much of, not all, voter suppression tactics to be blocked before they could be implemented.

With voter suppression allowed to run amok, it's more important than ever that we are #PreparedtoVote. LDF's #PtV effort is on the ground in targeted jurisdictions during elections to answer questions and provide voters with information on voting laws.

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Tomorrow will mark 7 years since the Supreme Court's #ShelbyCounty decision to gut the #Voting Rights Act and remove #preclearance. In a post-Shelby, pandemic-wrought America, states must approach voting with a "both-and" lens not an "either-or."

Voters need BOTH increased absentee voting opportunities AND ample in-person polling sites. No one should have to choose between life, death, & voting. 🗳️

@Jennyhooo

The confusion during KY's primary exemplifies the need for a "both-and" approach:
"'...we all were kind of steeling ourselves for this election because we knew that the number of polling places had been reduced so severely."
-LDF Asst. Counsel @Jennyhooo

courier-journal.com/story/news/pol…

Bennet Kelley

@bennetkelley

1/ A conservative friend of mine argued at various times and in different contexts (including racial preferences or affirmative action), that slavery ended in 1865, he had nothing to do with it, so why don't African-Americans "just get over it." #RaceMatters

2/ Yes, slavery ended in 1865 and while it contributed greatly to the wealth of white America, African-Americans were given nothing in return as the government reneged on its promise of 40 acres and a mule after the end of the Civil War. #RaceMatters pbs.org/wnet/african-a…

3/ Compare this to the Homestead Act of 1866 which transferred an area of land in the west the size of CA and TX (10% of all US land) to whites who need only improve it for 5 years and file a deed. aeon.co/ideas/land-and… #RaceMatters

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@Sifill_LDF

In 30 minutes, @Sifill_LDF and @staceyabrams will lead this critical discussion and answer your questions about the ways we can safeguard #voting and the #2020election--you won't want to miss it:

https://twitter.com/NAACP_LDF/status/1262741851897040896

HAPPENING NOW🚨

Click here to register and join: bit.ly/BEAWebinar

@Sifill_LDF

The abolition of the preclearance requirement in the 2013 SCOTUS #ShelbyCounty decision hurdled the nation back into an era of rampant voter suppression that targets communities of color.

@Sifill_LDF unpacks how that decision was antithetical to the expansion of #votingrights.

Since the destructive 2013 #ShelbyCounty decision, a wave of voter suppression practices have been allowed to keep citizens locked out of the voting booth. With the #VotingRightsAct gutted, discriminatory practices have diluted the voice of many people of color.

In 2016 we released #DemocracyDiminished, chronicling the new wave of threats citizens faced while trying to vote in the wake of the #ShelbyCounty decision. bit.ly/2IcNgm1

In 2018 voter suppression tactics were deployed to deny many Black citizens their constitutional right to vote. Even after Floridians overwhelmingly voted for #Amendment4 to restore voting rights to returning citizens, legislators have blocked persons with debts from registering.

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Since 2008, LDF has deployed trained staff and volunteers into various states to offer non-partisan election preparedness materials through #PreparedtoVote (PtV).

This year, #PtV will be in over a dozen states ensuring voters know their rights.

naacpldf.org/preparedtovote…

#PtV matters because voter suppression has been on the rise since the 2013 #ShelbyCounty Supreme Court decision. That decision gutted the #VotingRights Act by removing the preclearance requirement--a critical oversight needed to ensure fair elections.

Since that decision, voters have been left vulnerable to strict voter ID laws, strategic polling site closures, and misinformation.

LDF trailed the movement of anti-#votingrights laws to compose the Democracy Defended report:

naacpldf.org/our-thinking/i…