Today, a federal court ruled that public assistance recipients and the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP can proceed with a lawsuit claiming that the secretary of state, Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Health and Hospitals are disenfranchising minority and low-income voters by failing to offer them the opportunity to register to vote as required under federal law.
The National Voter Registration Act requires public assistance agencies, such as food stamps and Medicaid offices, to offer their clients the opportunity to register to vote whenever they apply for, update, or re-certify their benefits. The plaintiff’s complaint cites evidence showing that Louisiana agencies are failing to adhere to their responsibilities under law.
The state argued that the NAACP had no legal right to bring the lawsuit, but U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk sided with the plaintiffs, agreeing that the “lawsuit has demonstrated clear violations of federal law, and that the NAACP is a proper party to bring this lawsuit as one of the organizations that had to pick up the burden of voter registration,” said Nicole Zeitler of Project Vote.
“The State must be held accountable for its continuing violations of federal law, so that all Louisiana citizens have an opportunity to vote,” said Dale Ho, Assistant Counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which is representing the plaintiffs along with Project Vote and New Orleans attorney, Ronald Wilson.
On July 12, a similar lawsuit was filed against Louisiana by the Department of Justice filed.
Read the press release here.
Read the court order here.
Read more on Ferrand v. Schedler here.