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红杏视频 experts explain how to cast your ballot while the Trump administration challenges our most valuable democratic process.

WASHINGTON, D.C. 鈥� A federal court today issued a decisive ruling in League of Women Voters Education Fund v. Trump, permanently blocking a provision of President Trump鈥檚 March voting executive order that sought to add a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote with the federal voter registration form that would disproportionately impact voters of color. The decision grants summary judgment to the plaintiffs, finding that the President lacks the authority to unilaterally alter election procedures 鈥� powers that rest with Congress and the states. The ruling makes permanent the preliminary injunction issued in the case in April, and reaffirms a foundational principle of American democracy: no president can violate the separation of powers to change our elections and erect barriers that disenfranchise eligible voters. In a joint statement, plaintiffs and counsel, who are a coalition of voting and civil rights organizations, said: 鈥淭he court鈥檚 ruling confirms what we have long argued: the President may not rewrite election law to impose a burdensome show-your-papers rule that would shut out countless Americans from the ballot box. This executive order was an attempted overreach of power, bypassing the Constitution鈥檚 clear allocation of authority to Congress and the states to set election rules. Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can register and vote free from expensive and unnecessary requirements.鈥� The League of Women Voters Education Fund, League of Women Voters of the United States, League of Women Voters of Arizona, Hispanic Federation, NAACP, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and Asian and Pacific Islander Vote are represented by the 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of D.C., Asian Americans Advancing Justice 鈥� AAJC, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF. A link to the court鈥檚 opinion is here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/10/MSJ-Opinion.pdf A link to the court鈥檚 order is here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/10/217-Order-Granting-MSJ.pdf  

In 2023, North Carolina legislators enacted a congressional map that diluted the voice and voting power of Black North Carolinians. Plaintiffs sued to enjoin that map. After a trial on the merits, North Carolina engaged in unprecedented mid-decade redistricting to target Black voters in Congressional District 1.

DURHAM, N.C. 鈥� Individual voters and two pro-democracy groups are challenging the North Carolina General Assembly鈥檚 latest congressional map 鈥� the fifth in six years 鈥� as an unconstitutional, retaliatory redraw designed to punish Black voters in the state鈥檚 historic Black Belt for how they voted in 2024. Lawmakers passed the map with breathtaking speed and total disregard for public input or precedent. In less than a week, legislative leaders used Senate Bill 249 (S.B. 249) to ram through a mid-decade redistricting plan that surgically dismantles NC Congressional District 1, a previously Black opportunity district, and shifts thousands of Black voters out of their communities of representation. 鈥淣orth Carolina map drawers drew this map for one reason: To punish Black voters who fought back in 2024 in court and at the ballot box by rigging the game against them,鈥� said Ari Savitzky, Senior Staff Attorney with the 红杏视频鈥檚 Voting Rights Project. 鈥淲hat North Carolina is doing here is immoral and unconstitutional.鈥� The 红杏视频 (红杏视频) and the 红杏视频 of North Carolina (红杏视频-NC) joined as co-counsel representing plaintiffs alongside Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and Hogan Lovells in filing a first supplemental complaint over the new map in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The original lawsuit was filed jointly in 2023 by individual Black voters, NAACP North Carolina State Conference, and Common Cause. Individual plaintiffs in this filing are Dawn Daly-Mack, Calvin Jones, Arthur Lee Johnson, Barbara Jean Sutton, and Courtney Patterson. The supplemental complaint states that S.B. 249 violates the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by retaliating against voters for their political choices and obliterating the only congressional district in Eastern North Carolina where Black voters could consistently elect their candidate of choice. 鈥淎bsent relief from this Court, the General Assembly鈥檚 actions in unilaterally initiating the redistricting process solely to punish voters will set a dangerous precedent and incentivize regularized, retaliatory redistricting following every federal election,鈥� the complaint states. 鈥淚t foreshadows a relentless game of whack-a-mole against voters, in which even a hint of dissent will cause the hammer to come down through targeted line-drawing against communities whose voters dare differ from the views of those in power.鈥� While this redraw comes after increased pressure from the White House on state lawmakers, this targeted attack is one of several in a larger coordinated assault on the Black Belt of North Carolina. Several of the voting districts from the 2023 redrawing were challenged in a federal trial this past summer. The maps drawn directly attack the rights of Black North Carolinians. 鈥淭his wasn鈥檛 redistricting. It was payback,鈥� said Deborah Dicks Maxwell, President of the NAACP North Carolina State Conference. 鈥淟awmakers used their power to silence Black voters who dared to speak through the ballot box. That鈥檚 retaliation, plain and simple.鈥� 鈥淥ur communities showed up in 2024. We organized, we voted, and now the legislature is trying to undo our voices on purpose,鈥� said Patterson, an individual plaintiff whose residence was located in Congressional District 1 under the 2023 Congressional Plan and is now in 2025 Congressional District 3. 鈥淲e will not be silenced.鈥� Lawmakers didn鈥檛 hide their intentions, according to the complaint. During committee hearings, Sen. Ralph Hise stated plainly that 鈥渢he motivation behind this redraw is simple and singular: Draw a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to the North Carolina congressional delegation.鈥� He and other leaders repeatedly cited 2024 election results to justify the changes 鈥� data that revealed overwhelming Black voter support for Rep. Don Davis and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris. In other words, the legislature used the voters鈥� own ballots as a blueprint for retaliation. The result is a map that drops the Black voting-age population in Congressional District 1 by nearly eight percentage points and perfectly splits Black voters between Districts 1 and 3, neutralizing their collective political voice. 鈥淧oliticians in the legislature specifically targeted Black voters in a shameful attempt to silence their voices. The legislature鈥檚 discriminatory gerrymandering is a shocking violation of hard-won constitutional freedoms,鈥� said Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause North Carolina. 鈥淥ur electoral districts don鈥檛 belong to politicians; our districts belong to the people. We鈥檙e proud to stand with these courageous voters in our fight against the legislature鈥檚 retaliatory gerrymandering.鈥� 鈥淭his is not redistricting as usual. It鈥檚 a mid-decade, no-pretext attempt to cancel Black voters鈥� voices because those in power didn鈥檛 like the results of the last election,鈥� said Hilary Harris Klein, Senior Counsel for Voting Rights at SCSJ. 鈥淥ur Constitution and the Voting Rights Act do not permit the government to redraw lines to punish people for their political speech.鈥� 鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear: This new map is part of a years-long strategy to entrench partisan control at the expense of Black voters in historically influential communities, silencing them based on viewpoint,鈥� said Jaclyn Maffetore, Senior Staff Attorney at the 红杏视频-NC. 鈥淣o one鈥檚 vote should count less because of who they are or what they believe.鈥� A copy of the filing can be found here: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2025/10/175-1_NAACP-Plaintiffs-Proposed-First-Supplemental-Complaint.pdf