Voting Rights

Yesterday, Common Cause Indiana, the Indiana State Conference NAACP, and the Indianapolis NAACP welcomed more than 80 Indiana citizens to a virtual panel featuring voting rights experts. The strong attendance from a diverse group of community members highlights the strong grassroots support for an independent and bipartisan redistricting process in Indiana so that voters can freely choose their elected representatives, not the other way around. 

Last night, Common Cause Indiana and the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP filed a federal lawsuit challenging Indiana’s unjustifiably early deadline of noon on Election Day to receive mail-in ballots during the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The plaintiffs are being represented in the case by Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Indianapolis attorneys Bill Groth and Mark Sniderman.

Today, Common Cause Indiana and several registered voters in Saint Joseph County – Mary Frederick, John Justin Collier, William Marks Jr., and Minnie Lee Clark – filed suit against Secretary of State Connie Lawson and members of the St. Joseph County Election Board for rejecting outright their absentee ballots with purported signature mismatches in violation of their due process and equal protection rights under the federal constitution.