NAACP Legal Defense Fund Argues Appeal In Historic Voting Rights Acts Case

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, September 21 at 2:00 p.m., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco will hear oral argument in Farrakhan v. Gregoire, a lawsuit challenging Washington State's felon disfranchisement law, alleging that it strips the right to vote from Washington's citizens in a racially discriminatory manner.  Plaintiffs will be represented at oral argument by Ryan Haygood, Co-Director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's Political Participation Group. Rob McKenna, Attorney General of the State of Washington, will represent Defendants. Proceedings will be broadcast live on September 21 at 2:00 pm PDT / 5 pm EDT on C-SPAN 3.

The trial court hearing this case found that Washington's criminal justice system is tainted by racial bias at all levels – from stops and arrests, to charging and prosecution, to sentencing and incarceration. Remarkably, Washington State conceded this evidence, admitting that its criminal justice system operates in a racially discriminatory manner. The state's disfranchisement law imports this discrimination from the criminal justice system into the political process, and disproportionately denies the vote from Washington's minority citizens.  As a result, an incredible 24 percent of black men and 15 percent of the entire black population in Washington are denied their voting rights.

Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals held that the Voting Rights Act demands that such racial discrimination not spread to the ballot box, marking the first time that a federal court has struck down a state's felon disfranchisement law under the Voting Rights Act. This case is now being reheard by a larger panel of the Ninth Circuit, which will consider the core principle at issue in this case:  that racial discrimination should play no role in determining who may exercise the most precious right that a citizen has in our democracy.

Although the facts of this case are specific to Washington, which is among the nation's leaders in racially disproportionate criminal justice outcomes, this case has significance for the entire country. The U.S. incarcerates its citizens at a higher rate than any other country in the world, and nationally, more than 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of criminal convictions.  In 10 states, some or all individuals convicted of crimes are denied the right to vote for life. An estimated 2 million of the disfranchised – roughly 38% – are African Americans.

The most fundamental political right in our society is the right to vote. Change in our democracy comes through voting, but widespread disfranchisement weakens the political power of minority communities by stripping their members of the right to vote, thereby making much needed positive change exceedingly difficult.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and University Legal Assistance Clinic at Gonzaga University School of Law represent the plaintiffs.  

ABOUT LDF

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.(LDF) is America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 70 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

SOURCE NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund