Court Must Reconsider Case of Woman Sentenced to 5 Years for Voter Fraud (Eduardo Medina / NYTimes) - May 11 “A Texas woman whose five-year prison sentence for illegally casting a provisional ballot in the 2016 election prompted outrage among voting-rights activists will have her case reconsidered by an appeals court, the state’s highest criminal court ruled on Wednesday.”
More: “The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that a lower appeals court had incorrectly upheld parts of the conviction of the woman, Crystal Mason, who had voted in the general election in 2016, when she was a felon on probation, and filled out a provisional ballot that was never officially counted or tallied. Ms. Mason has insisted that at the time, she did not know she was ineligible to vote and had been advised by a poll worker to submit her provisional ballot”
Judge strikes down Florida governor’s ‘unconstitutional’ election map (Sam Levine / The Guardian) - May 11 “A state judge struck down new congressional districts in north Florida on Wednesday, saying that Governor Ron DeSantis, who drew the lines, had made it harder for Black voters to elect the candidate of their choice.”
More: “ ‘I am finding the enacted map is unconstitutional because it diminishes African Americans’ ability to elect candidates of their choice,’ circuit judge Layne Smith said on Wednesday, according to the Tributary. Lawyers for the state of Florida are expected to immediately appeal the ruling, and the Florida supreme court will probably ultimately decide the case.”
New York eyes its own voting rights act after failure at the federal level (Brigid Bergin / Gothamist) - May 11 “In a letter sent Wednesday to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Senate and Assembly leaders, a group of 72 civil rights, labor and voting rights organizations urged the state to make passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, (NY VRA) a priority before the Legislature winds down its final month of session.”
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