Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (Amicus)

The ACLU’s Voting Rights Project and the ACLU of Arizona filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 20, 2021, in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, a case challenging two voting barriers in Arizona under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

The case concerns limitations on ballot collection and out-of-precinct voting under Arizona law and whether those provisions violate Section 2 of the VRA by denying or abridging the right to vote in a manner that has a racially discriminatory effect.

The ACLU’s brief shows how adopting the positions of the petitioners in the case would be contrary to the text and the broad remedial purpose of the VRA and would gut the protections Congress intended.

Rather, it urges the court to adopt the manageable test already adopted by the majority of federal courts of appeals to consider the issue, which involves a fact-based, localized, totality-of-the-circumstances analysis.