Voting Rights
Willkie has dedicated pro bono efforts to protecting individuals from voter discrimination and advocating for election protection. Willkie pro bono volunteers are committed to protecting the right to vote, advancing free, fair and secure elections, and facilitating participation in the election process.
Election Protection Litigation
Moore v. Harper (SCOTUS 2023): Willkie filed an amicus brief on behalf of constitutional law professors, Lawrence Friedman and Robert F. Williams, in a United States Supreme Court case involving the “independent state legislature theory” which sought to interpret the Constitution to grant state legislatures exclusive power over redistricting and other rules for federal elections. This interpretation would bolster the power of state legislatures to create partisan gerrymanders. The Supreme Court, on June 27, 2023, in keeping with the position advocated in Willkie’s amicus brief, determined that the Elections Clause (Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution) does not vest exclusive and independent authority in state legislatures to set the rules regarding federal elections.
Willkie and various co-counsel, including the ACLU, Protect Democracy, the Texas Civil Rights Project, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, have brought lawsuits to protect the voting rights of citizens, challenge discriminatory election maps, and ensure the integrity of the election process.
Willkie teams have recently filed amicus briefs in multiple actions in Florida appellate courts and in the U.S. Supreme Court, on behalf of constitutional scholars referred by The Brennan Center for Justice, in support of individuals with past felony convictions who were prosecuted for registering to vote and voting even though they were ineligible to vote because of their felony convictions.
General
Willkie attorneys staff national and local voter hotlines and volunteer as poll observers and election monitors through Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, Election Protection, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, NALEO Educational Fund, Power the Polls, and others.
Willkie attorneys also assist voter protection efforts for VoteRiders and help formerly incarcerated individuals regain their voting rights through projects with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.
Willkie attorneys are members of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance Voting Rights Working Group, which focuses on reducing racial discrimination in voting.