2022 Midterm Elections - Vote Your Values, Fight for Your Rights

At the intersection of the many civil liberties threats facing the country are growing attacks on voting rights, fueled by anti-democratic and anti-rights politicians. Our freedom to speak our minds, to access abortion and other health care, and to be treated fairly in the eyes of the law are all in crisis because of who gets elected to office. Currently, there is an active attempt by politicians across the country to solidify their power by investing heavily in racial gerrymandering and voter suppression, to limit who has access to the ballot box.

Over 400 anti-voter bills have been introduced in the last year alone. The continuous anti-democratic rhetoric regarding the 2020 Presidential election threatens the structures of our electoral system and justifies voter suppression legislation nationwide. Within many of these bills are insidious forms of repression that go beyond typical voter suppression techniques by weaponizing the criminal justice system.

Despite mounting challenges at the state and federal levels, the ACLU is working hard to protect and expand our voting rights. Here are some recent positive gains the ACLU has made:

INDIGENOUS RIGHTS - The Montana Supreme Court yesterday upheld a preliminary injunction blocking a Montana law that had ended Election Day registration in the state. It issued a preliminary injunction blocking a prohibition on paid third-party ballot collection. The laws make it harder for Native Americans in Montana to cast a ballot.

END VOTER SUPPRESSION - In Pennsylvania, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand our lower court's victory that federal civil rights law requires elections officials to count absentee ballots excluded from the 2021 general election because voters had not the handwritten date on the return envelope. We expect it could save tens of thousands of ballots from being discarded in November.

SECURE EQUAL AND FAIR REPRESENTATION - We filed two legal challenges in South Carolina: one over its racially gerrymandered state House district map in December and one in October challenging the state legislature’s unnecessary delay in drawing new district maps. And in May, South Carolina agreed to adjust state House district lines in some of the most historically significant areas of the state for Black voters, restoring their ability to elect candidates of their choice in five counties.

This November, many of our civil liberties are on the ballot. From making it harder to vote and manipulating electoral boundaries to erasing transgender youth from public life, restricting access to reproductive health, and censoring what we can read and learn – politicians are attacking our fundamental rights.

It is important that everyone votes -- and you can help by talking to your friends and family about what’s at stake in this election.

Learn more about the midterms at aclu.org/midterms2022.