Appeal filed before the North Carolina Supreme Court on behalf of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP cites insecurity and health risk of touch screen voting machines during a pandemic. 

Raleigh, NC (September 4, 2020) – Voting rights advocates filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of North Carolina today, alleging imminent risk to voters’ right to free elections and equal protection under the laws if they are required to vote on the ExpressVote touch screen ballot marking device this November.

“The public interest in this appeal is indisputable,” the appeal states. “It will determine whether millions of North Carolina voters are given the opportunity in November to vote in a verifiable and secure manner, and without unnecessary risk to their lives and health.”

The appeal comes in a case filed in April challenging the new electronic voting system that Mecklenburg County and a number of other North Carolina counties rushed to implement for the 2020 elections.  The suit alleges the new system is vulnerable to security threats and its results are unverifiable, in violation of the North Carolina Constitution’s guarantees of free and fair elections and equal protection of the law.  The suit also alleges that the repeat touch screen devices can serve as vectors for spreading the COVID-19 disease during the pandemic, presenting an additional unconstitutional burden on voters.  The North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and individual North Carolina voters are bringing the lawsuit.  They are represented by Free Speech For People, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.

Read the appeal here.

Contact:

Edward Erikson │ [email protected] │  

Don Owens │ [email protected] │ 

 

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About Free Speech For People 

Free Speech For People works to renew our democracy and our United States Constitution for we the people. Founded on the day of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in January 2010, Free Speech For People envisions a democratic process in which all people have an equal voice and an equal vote. We fight for free and fair elections, for reliable and secure voting systems, and for the bedrock principle that, in a democracy, all voters must have their votes properly counted. For more information, please visit www.freespeechforpeople.org. 

About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.  Now in its 57th year, the Lawyers’ Committee is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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