Voting Rights
Willkie has dedicated many pro bono hours to protecting individuals from voter discrimination and advocating for election protection. We are committed to protecting the right to vote through our partnerships with nonpartisan organizations to advance free, fair and secure elections, and facilitate participation in the election process. Some of our recent work includes:
Election Protection Litigation
Moore v. Harper (SCOTUS 2023): Willkie filed an amicus brief on behalf of constitutional law professors, Lawrence Friedman and Robert F. Williams, in a United States Supreme Court case involving the “independent state legislature theory” which sought to interpret the Constitution to grant state legislatures exclusive power over redistricting and other rules for federal elections. This interpretation would bolster the power of state legislatures to create partisan gerrymanders. The Supreme Court, on June 27, 2023, in keeping with the position advocated in Willkie’s amicus brief, determined that the Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution) does not vest exclusive and independent authority in state legislatures to set the rules regarding federal elections.
Petteway, et al. v. Galveston County, et al. (S.D. Tex. 2023): Willkie, the Texas Civil Rights Project and The Southern Coalition for Social Justice brought this lawsuit alleging that the Galveston County Commissioners Court diluted the votes of and discriminated against its residents of color in violation of the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Constitution with its 2021 redistricting maps by destroying the only majority-minority precinct in Galveston County, a county whose population is 45% people of color. In October 2023, after a bench trial, the court ruled that the redrawn map illegally diluted the voting power of the county’s Black and Latino voters and ordered that it be redrawn ahead of the next election. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit affirmed, finding no clear error in the trial court record; however, the Court ordered to rehear the case en banc to assess the validity of coalition claims under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act, i.e., if Black and Latino voters in Galveston County may be aggregated to form a majority district. Oral argument took place on May 14, 2024. The district court ruling is stayed pending a decision from the en banc court.
General
Willkie works with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund to monitor polling places and record incidents of anti-Asian voter discrimination. Willkie attorneys also staff voting rights call centers administered by Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Election Protection, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCRUL), National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO) and other non-partisan organizations.
Willkie attorneys are members of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance Voting Rights Working Group, which focuses on reducing racial discrimination in voting.