Are Your Voting Rights In Jeopardy?

A 2017 lawsuit challenging a state law that allegedly suppresses minority voters from making it to the polls could influence the November election.

“California is failing to comply with these requirements because its DMV fails to provide voters with the proper application process for voter registration,” according to the lawsuit filed in California’s lower district court by the League of Women Voters of California against the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles.

The voting rights group alleges the California DMV is violating the “motor voter” act, which requires the state to include voter registration into renewing your driver’s license.

In early 2017, a new form started requiring California residents to file a separate voter registration form.

The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision to remove a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — because judges said it’s outdated — has granted states the ability to create new election laws without federal approval.

As a result, some states have created their own voter ID laws. Two-thirds of states require voters to provide some form of identification before you’re allowed to vote, according to the federal government’s Voter ID website.

Some non-profit leaders say their groups are fighting for citizens’ right to vote.

Rob Richie, a spokesperson for Fairvote, based in L.A., has helped promote regulations such as the Fair Representation Act.

The act gives voters the freedom to choose a congressmen by a new form called “ranked choice voting” for primaries and general elections.

Richie said, “We are focused on the longer-term goal, working with other groups like Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights and Common Cause. The main objective is to protect citizens’ voting rights so their voices can be heard.”