To Honor MLK, Let New Yorkers in Prison Vote Four lawmakers explain why they introduced legislation to finally end felony disenfranchisement in New York. Julia Salazar, Zellnor Myrie, Harvey Epstein, and Latrice Walker
It’s Time To Lower The Voting Age To 16 Grown adults have voted their way into the current morass in this country. Now is the time for a younger generation to lead the way. David A. Love
Florida Activists Flood Polling Sites With Volunteers to Combat Voter Suppression A grassroots coalition is showing up at locations across the swing state to ensure Black and Latinx voters can cast their ballots safely. Harrison Jacobs
The Senate Filibuster Is Hollowing Out American Democracy If Democrats win control of the Senate, allowing this archaic tradition to survive will make everything of significance the party hopes to accomplish virtually impossible. Jay Willis
What Raquel Terán Wants To Accomplish If Democrats Take The Arizona State Legislature The state representative wants to pass paid family leave, repeal Arizona’s pre-Roe vs. Wade abortion ban, and increase access to the ballot through automatic voter registration and same-day registration. Meg O'Connor
In Her First Run For Office, Teresa Leger Fernandez Wants To ‘Protect What We Love’ About New Mexico Leger Fernandez, whose district includes Navajo Nation and several Pueblo reservations, wants to pass universal healthcare and improve infrastructure in tribal and rural communities. Lauren Gill
As Arizona Politics Shift, Martín Quezada Hopes This Term Is His Most Significant Quezada has supported progressive policies since starting out in the state legislature in 2012. He’s now running for his final term, which could be his most important, given the state’s changing power dynamics. Meg O'Connor
Teens Younger Than 18 Could Soon Have The Right To Vote In San Francisco A measure on the ballot next month would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote, a change that advocates say would crucially expand the voting pool. Lauren Gill
Michigan Lifers Are Organizing Their Families to Vote The Adolescent Redemption Project, a new group organized by Michigan prisoners sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, is advocating for progressive prosecutors. Marcia Brown
Black Voters Matter Co-Founder Says Voting Enthusiasm Is Strong Despite Rampant Suppression The group is seeing real challenges posed by the pandemic, voter suppression tactics, and threats of intimidation. Kira Lerner
As More States Turn To Mail-In Voting, Problems Pop Up Across Country Last week’s problems in New York were part of a widespread series of issues, both systemic and targeted, that are only now becoming fully apparent, activists say. Eoin Higgins
Advocates For Domestic Workers, Voters, And Prisoners Express Alarm Over Trump’s Threat To End Stimulus Talks Passing the HEROES Act would provide crucial protections to some of the most vulnerable essential workers, they say. Lauren Gill
California Voters Have An Opportunity To Chip Away At Jim Crow-Era Voting Law Proposition 17 would allow people with felony convictions to cast ballots while they are on parole. Kira Lerner
Another Way Chaos Could Erupt on Election Day: Delayed Absentee Ballot Processing Although some GOP election officials have moved to allow mail-in ballots to be counted early, outdated rules in other key Republican-led states could feed President Trump’s Election Day fearmongering. Spenser Mestel
Trump’s Voter Fraud Lie Is the Oldest Trick in the Book The president’s fearmongering over mail-in ballots is part of a long history of politicians denying members of marginalized communities, and particularly Black people, the right to vote. Jay Willis
Conservatives Are Winning The Supreme Court’s Most Important Fight: Suppressing The Vote Enabling widespread voter suppression is shaping up to be the Roberts Court’s most consequential accomplishment, because every other aspect of the Republican agenda depends on it. Jay Willis
Police at Polling Places Could Intimidate Voters This November, Advocates Warn This year’s presidential contest will be the first since a federal judge lifted a decades-old consent decree barring the Republican National Committee from engaging in “ballot security,” or voter intimidation at the polls. Kira Lerner
Voting Rights Advocates Sound the Alarm About Disenfranchisement of Black Voters in Wisconsin’s Primary 'We literally held an election during a pandemic.' Kira Lerner
As Florida Primary Approaches, Many With Felony Convictions Remain Unclear if They Can Vote Advocates worry the widespread confusion may have a chilling effect on eligible voters. Kira Lerner
My Vote Was Taken Away From My Community and Given To a District Where I Was Incarcerated Prison-based gerrymandering takes political power away from Black and Latinx communities—power that could be used to push for more funding for schools, social services, infrastructure, and other important reforms. Robert Saleem Holbrook
Florida Can’t Bar People From Voting Because of Inability to Pay, Appeals Court Says The court found that a law that critics described as a poll tax violates the Constitution. Kira Lerner
Kentucky Bill Would Make It Harder For Formerly Incarcerated People To Vote The bill would disproportionately affect the 140,000 people whose voting rights were recently restored. Kira Lerner
Tuesday’s Election Boosts Voting Rights for People With Past Convictions A claimed victory in Kentucky and wins in Virginia mean hundreds of thousands of people could have their right to vote restored. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
Miami Officials: Most People Who Owe Fines and Fees Can Vote Lawyers and advocates in Miami-Dade County will roll out a new plan to counter the disenfranchisement of people with felony convictions. Kira Lerner, Daniel Nichanian
The Appeal Podcast: What’s Changed Since The 2018 Prison Strike? With Jailhouse Lawyers Speak spokesperson and Right 2 Vote national coordinator Amani Sawari Adam H. Johnson
How a D.C. Lawmaker is Challenging the Racist Roots of Prison Voting Restrictions Right now, only the whitest states—Maine and Vermont—allow prisoners to vote. Washington, D.C., could change that. Kira Lerner
‘I Can’t Afford It and I Never Will Be Able To’ Florida is poised to pass a law that imposes a ‘poll tax’ on thousands of formerly incarcerated people. Kira Lerner
Texas Is Poised to Make It Easier to Jail People For Voting Errors The legislation is part of a wave of bills across the country meant to criminalize mistakes in the name of voter fraud. Kira Lerner
Undercutting reform, Florida moves to ban certain people from ever voting again Lawmakers are redefining certain crimes in order to carve out broad exceptions to who can regain the right to vote. Kira Lerner
The Appeal Podcast: The Backlash Against Expanding Voting Rights With Appeal staff reporter Kira Lerner Adam H. Johnson
Iowa Moves Toward Expanding Voting Rights. But It May Require a ‘Modern Day Poll Tax.’ Lawmakers are debating whether to let people with felony convictions vote—but there could be a catch. Kira Lerner
Texas D.A. Who Sent Woman To Prison For Five Years for Voting Made Her Own Election Mistake Tarrant County District Attorney Sharen Wilson prosecuted Crystal Mason for casting an illegal ballot. But Wilson escaped charges for a possible election violation of her own. Steven Yoder
In New York, Most Parolees Can Now Vote—But Many County Websites Say They Can’t As Thursday's election approaches, confusion reigns. Emma Whitford
‘We thought it was important to knock down doors’ Lewis Conway Jr., a formerly incarcerated activist running for Austin City Council, sits down with The Appeal. Sylvia A. Harvey
