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☆ Ohio Vote Shows Abortion’s Potency to Reshape Elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Lisa Lerer | More About Lisa Lerer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mike DeWine of Ohio, a Republican, argued that Tuesday’s vote over how to amend the State Constitution was about protecting the state from a flood of special interest money. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, another Republican, urged voters to protect the “very foundational rules” of their constitution. But Ohio voters clearly didn’t buy it. But the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade has shifted the political intensity on the issue, reshaping a once mostly-silent coalition of liberal, swing and moderate Republican voters into a political force. “We’ve taken it on the chin since Dobbs,” said Michael Gonidakis, president of Ohio Right to Life in Columbus, Ohio, who helped organize efforts supporting the proposal on Tuesday.

Persons: Mike DeWine of, Frank LaRose, Court’s Dobbs, Roe, Wade, “, Dobbs, ”, Michael Gonidakis, you’ll Organizations: Republican, Republicans Locations: Mike DeWine of Ohio, Ohio, Columbus , Ohio, “

☆ 4 Takeaways From Ohio’s Vote on Abortion and Democratic Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Maggie Astor | More About Maggie Astor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Abortion rights is a turnout engine …If anyone doubted the message that voters have been sending in election after election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Ohioans underscored it once more on Tuesday: Voters are highly motivated by abortion. They have repeatedly supported abortion rights even in red states, and have turned out to say so even on typically low-turnout primary dates. That was clear in Kansas a year ago, when voters in a highly Republican state overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have allowed legislators to ban abortion. It was clear in November, when abortion-related questions were on the ballot in five states with different political leanings, and all five states voted in favor of abortion rights. It was clear this April, when a majority of voters in closely divided Wisconsin elected a liberal Supreme Court justice who had run on her support for abortion rights.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Donald J, Trump Locations: Kansas, Wisconsin, Ohio

☆ Ohio voters reject ballot measure in win for abortion rights advocates
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The results in the special election were a crucial victory for abortion rights advocates, who would have faced the daunting prospect of securing a super-majority of voters this fall if the measure had passed. Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office. On Tuesday, abortion rights groups in Arizona, a key presidential swing state, launched an effort to put the issue before voters in November 2024. Abortion rights opponents have called the November referendum extreme, claiming its vague language would allow minors to get abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent. Other groups supporting Tuesday's referendum collected funds from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and The Concord Fund, a conservative dark-money group.

Persons: Read, Ohioans, Joe Biden, Mike DeWine, Jen Miller, Richard Uihlein, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Joseph Ax, Dan Whitcomb, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Republican, Associated Press, U.S, Supreme, Republican Ohio, League of Women Voters, Ohio Republicans, Illinois Republican, America, The, Fund, Tides Foundation, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois, California, Lincoln

☆ Ohio Issue 1 results: Voters reject effort that would make it harder to amend state constitution, CNN projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Eric Bradner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Ohio voters rejected Tuesday an effort to raise the threshold to amend the state’s constitution ahead of a November referendum on whether to constitutionally guarantee abortion rights there, handing abortion rights advocates a critical victory. The measure was a GOP-led effort targeting an upcoming November referendum in which voters will decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. Already, voters in two deep-red states, Kansas and Kentucky, have rejected efforts to limit abortion rights (though abortion is still banned in Kentucky). The Democratic push to enshrine abortion rights in Michigan’s constitution played a key role in the party’s victories there in the 2022 midterm elections. Among his Republican challengers is Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the state’s elections chief and the highest-profile proponent of Issue 1.

Persons: Ohioans, ”, Dennis Willard, Marcela Azevedo, we’ve, ” Azevedo, Roe, Wade, Joe Biden, ’, “ Ohioans, Mike DeWine, ” DeWine, John Kasich, Bob Taft, Kasich, “ I’ve, Democratic Sen, Sherrod Brown, Frank LaRose, LaRose Organizations: CNN, Ohio, GOP, Ohioans United, Reproductive Rights, Democratic, Ohio Republican, Republicans, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Buckeye Firearms Association, Twitter, Protect, Senate, Republican Locations: Ohio, Columbus, “ Ohio, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio Chamber of Commerce , Ohio, Protect Women Ohio

☆ Ohio voters flock to the polls with abortion rights at stake in GOP-backed rules change
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A sign asking Ohioans to vote in support of Issue 1 sits above another sign advocating against abortion rights at an event hosted by Created Equal on Thursday, July 20, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Republican-backed proposal, known as Issue 1, would raise the minimum threshold of votes needed to amend the state constitution by popular referendum, from a simply majority up to 60% of ballots cast. Early voter turnout has been high, which is unusual for special elections and likely reflects intense voter interest in abortion rights issues. A poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University in July found that 58% of Ohioans support the amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution. Ohioans' support for abortion is just shy of the 60% that would be needed if Tuesday's ballot initiative passes.

Persons: Ohioans Organizations: Republican, Associated Press, AP, Voters, Buckeye State, USA, Suffolk University Locations: Cincinnati , Ohio, Ohio, Buckeye

☆ Ohio special election could determine future of abortion rights in the state
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

If it passes, a super-majority of voters would be required to approve a November referendum that seeks to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution. Political groups on both sides of the abortion issue have poured millions of dollars into the state ahead of the vote. Ballot initiatives have become powerful tools for abortion rights activists in states where abortion opponents, usually Republicans, control the legislature or hold the governor's office. Voters in Kansas and Kentucky, both solidly conservative states, rejected measures last year that would have declared that their state constitutions do not protect abortion rights. Abortion rights opponents have called the November referendum extreme, claiming its vague language would allow minors to get abortions and gender-affirming surgery without parental consent.

Persons: Wade, Megan Jelinger, Mike DeWine, Jen Miller, Richard Uihlein, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Joseph Ax, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: United States Supreme, Women's Health Organization, REUTERS, Republican, U.S, Supreme, League of Women Voters, Ohio Republicans, Illinois Republican, America, The, Fund, Tides Foundation, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Columbus , Ohio, Dobbs, Kansas, Kentucky, Illinois, California

☆ Ohio Voters Reject Constitutional Change Intended to Thwart Abortion Amendment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Michael Wines | More About Michael Wines | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Ohio voters rejected a bid on Tuesday to make it harder to amend the State Constitution, according to The Associated Press, a significant victory for abortion-rights supporters trying to stop the Republican-controlled State Legislature from severely restricting the procedure. The abortion question turned what would normally be a sleepy summer election in an off year into a highly visible dogfight that took on national importance and drew an uncharacteristically high number of Ohio voters for an August election. Initial results showed the measure losing by a roughly 3 to 2 margin. The contest was seen as a test of Republicans’ efforts nationwide to curb the use of ballot initiatives, and a potential barometer of the political climate going into the 2024 elections.

Organizations: Associated Press, Republican, Legislature, Ohio

☆ Abortion Drives Ohio Election on Amending the State Constitution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Michael Wines | More About Michael Wines | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

John Kasich of Ohio, a Republican, wrote on Twitter in April that he had watched voters reject policies that he and his legislative majority had backed. “It wouldn’t have been right then, and it isn’t right now.”Once, Ohio was the quintessential swing state. The 2022 election brought single-party control of the governor’s office and legislature to 39 states, the most in at least three decades. And 29 states, 20 of them Republican, have veto-proof supermajorities that control both houses of the state legislatures. “We can kind of do what we want,” Matt Huffman, the powerful Ohio State Senate president, told the Columbus Dispatch in a 2022 profile.

Persons: John Kasich of, ”, Matt Huffman, — Organizations: Gov, Republican, Twitter, Ohio State, Columbus Dispatch, Alabama Legislature, U.S, Supreme Locations: John Kasich of Ohio, Ohio

☆ Ohio Republicans wanted to kneecap abortion activists before November. It may backfire on them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Ohio Republicans want to make it harder to amend their state's constitution. Ohio Republicans who pushed the measure argued that a higher threshold was needed to keep future amendments focused only on what Ohioians want. Ohio Republicans previously banned most August elections. The GOP presidential primary race has split over candidates who back a bare-minimum nationwide abortion ban and those who do not. Polling shows that a nationwide ban is broadly unpopular, but the nomination contest provides the perfect time for anti-abortion activists to pressure candidates on the issue.

Persons: Sen, JD Vance, Vance, Frank LaRose, Brian Stewart, It's, Richard Uihlein, Uihlein, WOSU, Mike DeWine, Roe, Wade, Jackson, haven't, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis Organizations: Service, Republicans, Republican, Ohio Republicans, Columbus Dispatch, GOP, Ohio Capital, Ohio Gov, Florida Gov Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ohio, Illinois, An Ohio, Dobbs v, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohioans

☆ Lawyers successfully argued that a Jim Crow-era law banning felons from voting is cruel and unusual punishment
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Mississippi lawyers successfully argued against a lifetime voting ban for felons. These Jim Crow-era laws included a lifetime voting ban on any Mississippi resident convicted of certain felonies. Previous challenges to the law have argued it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, the Post reports. While the law is still in effect, if this latest ruling sticks, it could restore voting rights to 30,000 people in the state, according to the Post. Additional requirements in these states include indefinite bans for some crimes or additional waiting periods after someone completes their sentence.

Persons: Jim Crow, Lynn Fitch, — Organizations: Service, Circuit, Washington Post, Post, National Conference of State Legislatures Locations: Mississippi, Wall, Silicon

REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Friday ruled that Mississippi cannot strip the right to vote from thousands of convicts after they complete their sentences, calling that a "cruel and unusual punishment" that disproportionately affected Black people. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted a provision of Mississippi's state constitution that mandates lifetime disenfranchisement for people convicted of a set of crimes including murder, rape and theft. Siding with a group of convicts who sued in 2018 to regain their right to vote, U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis wrote that the state's policy violated the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishments. Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King in reversing a lower-court judge's ruling.

Persons: Jonathan Bachman, James Dennis, Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, Mississippians, Jonathan Youngwood, Lynn Fitch, disenfranchisement, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Jones, Nate Raymond, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Circuit, U.S ., Washington , D.C, U.S, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Ridgeland , Mississippi, U.S, Mississippi, New Orleans, U.S . Civil, Washington ,, Constitution's, Boston

☆ Redistricting battles could determine control of US House in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But a series of legal challenges, including a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, have cast many of those district lines into doubt. Legal experts said the ruling bolsters similar challenges in Georgia and Louisiana, where voting rights groups have argued that Republican-drawn maps marginalized Black voters. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court appears set to alter course after previously finding Republican maps violated the state constitution’s prohibition on gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, the most expensive state Supreme Court election in U.S. history resulted in a new liberal majority. OTHER BATTLESLast month, the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments over the state’s Republican-drawn congressional map, which carved Democratic Salt Lake County into four separate districts.

Persons: reconvenes, Leah Millis, –, ”, Michael Li, University’s, “, Kathy Hochul, Janet Protasiewicz Organizations: YORK, House, U.S . Capitol, Republican, REUTERS, Republicans, Census, Supreme, Center for Justice, U.S, Democrat, REPUBLICAN, STATE, Democratic, Ohio’s Republican, DEMOCRATIC, Utah Supreme Locations: New York, Utah, U.S, Washington , U.S, New, Black, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, In Wisconsin, Democratic Salt Lake County, New Mexico

Uber and Lyft drivers protest during a day-long strike outside Uber’s office in Saugus, Massachusetts, U.S., May 8, 2019. "The best antidote to unchecked corporate greed and rising inequality is building worker power through a union," Roxana Rivera, the head of the union in Massachusetts, said in a statement. The measures' proponents would then need to gather thousands of signatures to secure their placement on the ballot. The industry-backed proposal follows a similar 2020 measure in California, where the companies persuaded state voters to solidify ride-hail and food delivery workers’ status as independent contractors with some benefits. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Uber, Roxana Rivera, Andrea Campbell, Nate Raymond, David Gregorio, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, BOSTON, Uber Technologies, Massachusetts Drivers, Labor, SEIU, 32BJ, Thomson Locations: Saugus , Massachusetts, U.S, Massachusetts, California, Boston

The new campaign by the group working to pass the August measure, called Protect Women Ohio, includes a $4.5 million expenditure on two new 30-second television ads, as well as $1 million on statewide radio and digital ads. The ads continue a strategy by the group to tie the Aug. 8 measure, as well as a November ballot measure that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, to parental rights restrictions. Protect Women Ohio’s ads and statements also argue that the presence of ACLU of Ohio in the pro-amendment coalition is evidence of a push beyond abortion rights. The group has also, so far, committed $25 million for ads to oppose the November ballot measure. If voters pass the threshold measure in August, then the proposed abortion rights amendment in November would need 60% support from voters to pass.

Persons: ”, Hunter, ” Hunter, Vivina Napier, you’ll, ” Napier Organizations: Protect, NBC News, Reproductive, Ohio Constitution Locations: Ohio, Women Ohio

☆ Sheila Oliver, New Jersey's acting governor while Phil Murphy's out of the country, dies suddenly of an undisclosed medical issue at 71
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

When New Jersey Gov. Sheila Oliver took over his job. Sheila Oliver took over his role as acting governor. As acting governor, Scutari, a Democrat, has all the same powers of a traditional governor. Prior to becoming lieutenant governor, Oliver was the first Black female speaker of the state's general assembly.

Persons: Phil Murphy, Gov, Sheila Oliver, Nick Scutari, Oliver's, Sheila Y, Oliver, Murphy Organizations: New, New Jersey Gov, Service, Democrat Locations: New Jersey, Wall, Silicon, Europe, of New Jersey, Italy, Scutari

☆ Sheila Oliver, New Jersey’s Trailblazing Lieutenant Governor, Has Died
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Tracey Tully | More About Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sheila Y. Oliver, New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office there, died on Tuesday after being rushed to the hospital the day before. Ms. Oliver, a Democrat and longtime resident of East Orange, N.J., was elected lieutenant governor in 2017 as Gov. In 2010, she became the first Black woman to lead the predominantly male State Assembly. Ms. Oliver had been serving as acting governor of New Jersey since Mr. Murphy and his family left over the weekend for a vacation in Italy, where they own a home. Mr. Murphy will return to New Jersey within the next few days, a spokesman said.

Persons: Sheila Y, Oliver, New, Philip D, Murphy, Nick Scutari Organizations: Democrat Locations: East Orange, N.J, New Jersey, Italy

☆ How New Zealand's plan for English and te reo Māori road signs took an unexpected turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But plans to introduce bilingual road signs featuring both the English and te reo Maori languages have sparked a divisive, racially charged debate ahead of the country’s looming general election. Slightly less than a quarter of New Zealand’s 892,200 Maori speak te reo Maori as one of their first languages, according to the latest government data. Part of the reason that te reo Maori is not so widely spoken is that back in New Zealand’s colonial era there were active efforts to stamp it out. The Native Schools Act 1867 required schools to teach in English where possible and children were often physically punished for speaking te reo Maori. “The primary objective of these standards is to guarantee that all road signs are unambiguous, uniform, and legible to all,” he said.

Persons: Simeon Brown, Chris Hipkins, “ I’m, ”, Marty Melville, Awanui Te, Tania Ka’ai, “, ” Ka’ai, –, Kasem Choocharukul, Kasem, Huw Fairclough, James Griffiths ,, Puakea Nogelmeier, Nogelmeier Organizations: CNN, reo, Zealand, Waka, NZ Transport Agency, New, National, Labour Party government, National Party, Labour, Getty, Native, Victoria University of Wellington, Zealanders, The International, Language, Auckland University of Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Research, University of Leeds, Wales –, New Zealand, Welsh, Welsh Language Society, Gaelic, Constitutional Convention, Hawaiian, University of Hawaii, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, Wales Locations: Aotearoa, Wellington , New Zealand, AFP, New, New Zealand, Zealanders, Wales, United Kingdom, Thailand, Tredegar , Wales, Republic of Ireland, Hawaii, Olelo Hawai’i, Llanfair, Anglesey, Europe, Hawke’s

☆ Populist senator JD Vance supports an effort to make it harder to change Ohio's constitution — even though it's backed by a GOP Illinois billionaire — because he says it protects voters from 'out of s
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ohio will vote August 8 on a measure to make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution. JD Vance backs it, arguing it protects voters from "out of state" interests ahead of an abortion referendum. If the ballot measure passes, future amendments to the state constitution would require at least 60% support among voters to be enacted. The change has been pushed by Ohio Republicans ahead of a referendum in November on enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution. "There is nothing radical about requiring a 60% vote to amend the State Constitution," reads a message on the group's website.

Persons: JD Vance, Republican Sen, it's, Vance, Mike DeWine, State Frank Rose, Richard Uihlein, Uihlein, Elizabeth, megadonors, Elizabeth Uihlein, Peter Thiel Organizations: GOP, Service, Ohio, Republican, Capitol, General, State, Tides Foundation, National Education Association Locations: Ohio, Illinois, Wall, Silicon, San, Francisco, enshrining

☆ Ohio voters appear primed to back abortion rights measure, the latest sign of the post-Roe fury
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ohio voters appear primed to pass an abortion rights constitutional amendment. According to a new poll, 58% of likely Ohio voters would vote in favor of the amendment. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose must declare by tomorrow whether the abortion rights measure has enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. As Insider previously reported, abortion rights measures could prove to deliver major political benefits to Democrats. During the 2022 midterms, abortion rights groups passed every state measure they sought and also beat back efforts to restrict abortion access.

Persons: Roe, Frank LaRose, Mike DeWine, Ohioans, Wade Organizations: Service, USA, Suffolk University, GOP, Republican Gov, Republican, National Conference of State Legislatures, The, The Mississippi Supreme, Voters Locations: Ohio, Wall, Silicon, The Mississippi

☆ Democrats are more likely to take back the House after a recent New York court decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A recent appeals court decision out of New York may be what pushes Democrats to win the House in 2024. The appeals court ordered the Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the state's congressional map. The congressional map used in 2022 led four Republicans to flip previously Democratic-held seats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed DelBene, attacking the judge who appointed the special master to draw up the current congressional map of New York. "The Appellate Division decision confirms that the New York State Constitution requires congressional district lines be drawn by an independent redistricting commission.

Persons: George Santos, —, Suzan DelBene, DelBene, Hakeem Jeffries, Jeffries Organizations: Independent, Republicans, Service, New York Times, Division, Democratic, Times, Democratic Party, Republican, Republican Party, Democratic Congressional, New, New York Locations: New York, Wall, Silicon, York, Albany, —, North Carolina

[1/2] A general view of the Iowa state capitol in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. February 3, 2020. Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, ordered the special legislative session after the Iowa Supreme Court on June 16 blocked a similar measure passed in 2018 from going into effect. The Midwestern state's highest court deadlocked in a 3-3 decision, leaving abortion legal in Iowa for up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Fourteen states have banned most abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case and stripped away a nationwide right to abortion. The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition advocacy group has also asked its members to contact their lawmakers to support the bill.

Persons: Jonathan Ernst, Kim Reynolds, Roe, Wade, Sharon Bernstein, Colleen Jenkins, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Republican, Midwestern, Supreme, Iowa, Freedom Coalition, Thomson Locations: Iowa, Des Moines , Iowa, U.S

☆ Utah G.O.P.’s Map Carved Up Salt Lake Democrats. Is It a Legal Matter?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Michael Wines | More About Michael Wines | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The 550,000 voters in Salt Lake County, Utah’s most populous, handed Joseph R. Biden Jr. an 11-percentage point victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 contest for president. On Tuesday, the Utah Supreme Court will consider whether to wade into the increasingly pitched nationwide battle over partisan gerrymanders. The justices will decide whether the state’s courts can hear a lawsuit challenging the House map, or whether partisan maps are a political issue beyond their jurisdiction. But voting rights advocates say Utah’s Constitution offers a stronger case than the federal one for reining in political maps. He said other relevant provisions in the State Constitution, but absent from the federal Constitution, include guarantees of free elections and the right to vote.

Persons: Joseph R, Biden, Donald Trump, ”, Mark Gaber Organizations: Republican, Utah Supreme, U.S, Supreme Locations: Salt Lake County, Utah’s, Utah, State, Washington

☆ Opinion | What Frederick Douglass Knew That Trump and DeSantis Don’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jamelle Bouie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Here, it is worth taking a brief tour of the history of birthright citizenship in the United States. Although the idea of birthright citizenship was present in English common law at the time of the adoption of the Constitution, the Constitution as ratified said nothing about acquiring citizenship by either birth or naturalization. To the extent that citizenship came with rights, the scope of those rights was a question of state laws and state constitutions. But there were always proponents of a broader, more expansive and rights-bearing birthright citizenship. “Our common country is the United States,” Delany wrote.

Persons: ”, Martin Delany, ” Delany, Martha S, Jones Organizations: Colored People, Rights, Antebellum, Convention Locations: United States, Union, Antebellum America, America, Rochester , New York

☆ US Supreme Court won't scrutinize Mississippi curb on voting by felons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The state's felon disenfranchisement policy has been shown to have a disproportionate impact on Black Mississippians, nearly 29,000 of whom were disenfranchised between 1994 and 2017, according to court filings. Black Mississippians account for 36% of the state's voting age population but 59% of those who have been disfranchised for life due to a felony conviction. The 1890 version had removed crimes thought to be "white crimes" and added those thought to be "Black crimes," with the aim of discriminating against Black voters, according to court records. Eight crimes listed in the 1890 version of the provision - bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement and bigamy - remain as disqualifying offenses today. A key question in the case was whether the process of amending Mississippi's felon disenfranchisement provision purged the discriminatory intent behind the 1890 version and brought the law into compliance constitutional race-based voter protections.

Persons: Roy Harness, Kamal Karriem, Constitution's, Harness, Karriem, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Black, Constitution, Harness, The, Circuit, Thomson Locations: Civil, Mississippi, U.S, The New Orleans

The court, in a 4-1 decision, found that the Indiana constitution does not include a broad right to abortion, allowing Indiana to join 14 other Republican-led states in enforcing abortion bans. Indiana's General Assembly last August passed the first new law state law banning abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that had established a right to abortion nationwide. The law prohibits all abortion with exceptions for rape, incest, lethal fetal abnormalities and to save the mother's life or prevent serious health risk. Planned Parenthood argued in its lawsuit that the law violated the right liberty guaranteed by the state constitution. But Justice Derek Molter, writing for the majority on Friday, said the framers of the state constitution "left the General Assembly with legislative discretion to regulate or limit abortion."

Persons: General Todd Rokita, we'll, Roe, Wade, Derek Molter, Molter, Christopher Goff, Brendan Pierson, Grant McCool Organizations: Indiana Supreme, Planned, Republican, Hoosiers, U.S, Supreme, General, Thomson Locations: Indiana, New York

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