Democracy & Voting

Protecting our voting rights

More than a century after the right to vote was declared fundamental, that right is under attack. Efforts to make it harder for racial minorities to participate in the political process are proliferating across the country - and we're fighting those efforts in court.

The NAACP Georgia State Conference, with the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, the League of Women Voters of Georgia, GALEO Latino Community Development Fund, Common Cause, and the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe, are suing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of the State Election Board to prevent them from enforcing any provisions of SB 202 – Georgia's new voting law that is designed to restrict the right of Georgia citizens to vote.
The lawsuit states that SB 202 is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate based on race, and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution as undue burdens on the right to vote and the right to free speech and freedom of association.
Read the full filing.
The NAACP Florida State Conference, along with Disability Rights Florida and Common Cause, sued the Florida Secretary of State on May 6, seeking to prevent the enforcement of S.B. 90, Florida's newly enacted law that suppresses the right to vote and access to the ballot. S.B.90 disproportionately impacts Black voters by making it more difficult to vote by mail, cast a ballot in ballot drop boxes, and will result in long lines at polling places.
The lawsuit claims the statute violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We're seeking to prevent Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee from enforcing the discriminatory and restrictive provisions of the new law.
Read the full filing
On January 20, 2021, the NAACP submitted an amicus brief in Brnovich v. DNC in the U.S. Supreme Court, alongside the Lawyers' Committee, arguing that the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act must not be limited. The NAACP brief argues that the Court should uphold the lower court's ruling that Section 2 should be interpreted broadly, in order to allow for continued and effective enforcement of the Voting Rights Act to protect access to the ballot. The brief argues that Section 2 should not be construed to prohibit only restrictions on voting "qualifications" but also must apply to any "time, place or manner" requirements, and that a voting practice can violate Section 2 even if it doesn't impact enough voters to influence an election's outcome.
Read the full filing.

We mobilize voters

Ahead of the 2024 election, the NAACP launched its most robust electoral program ever. In partnership with GSSA, a Colorado-based data and election strategy group, the NAACP leveraged a combination of direct voter contact, mass communication, targeted digital mobilization, and SMS texting to build on its historic 2022 civic engagement efforts to turn out black voters. We built our program using cutting-edge data science, combined with the engine of traditional organizing: the power of person-to-person connection.

Learn More About our Civic Engagement Work

Many do not understand the need to have a Congress who is fighting for everyday working people. We can't just elect a President and think we've done enough.

- Charlotta M., NAACP Supporter

Voting: For Culture, For Community

How it started

It wasn't until 1965, after years of intimidation, murders, and advocacy that the path to the voting booth was cleared for Black people with the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act is a bedrock law protecting every American's right to register to vote and cast their ballot. It remains one of the hardest-fought safeguards for Black Americans and other minority groups.

Voting rights history explained

NAACP Georgia State Conference v Raffensperger

NAACP v. Florida Secretary of State

Brnovich v. DNC

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