Sponsored by the Judicial Division at the 2020 ABA Midyear Meeting, the program “The Disenfranchised Among Us,” was held Saturday, Feb. 15, at 9:45 a.m. in Austin, Texas.
Panelists discuss how poll taxes, criminal records and other limitations may affect voters in the crucial 2020 election, and how such issues have affected elections in the recent past. The program explores barriers that prevent citizens from voting and the implications of these restrictions on the fundamental right of self-determination.
Panelists cover efforts to restore voting rights to people freed from prison after serving criminal sentences, and the issue in the Brakebill case of citizens who have no street addresses.
Moderator:
- Hon. Lisa Atkinson, tribal court judge and past Chair of the Tribal Courts Council
Panelists:
- Matthew Campbell, staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colo., and the lead plaintiffs’ lawyer in the Brakebill case.
- Benjamin Griffith, a civil litigation lawyer from Oxford, Miss., and co-editor of the new ABA book, “America Votes! Challenges to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights”
- Chad Vickery, vice president of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems in Arlington, Va.