News & Commentary

At a public hearing last night, the Rhode Island ACLU called on the state Reapportionment Commission address the critical problem of prison gerrymandering when drawing legislative district lines. Prison gerrymandering refers to the practice of counting all inmates at a prison as living there for purposes of redistricting. The impact of skewing districts this way is that the voting strength of the communities from which the inmates come is diluted, while the political influence of the city residents in which the prison is located is inflated.

The RI ACLU issued the following statement today in response to suggestions that the General Assembly pass a law requiring a state criminal background check for all candidates who are certified by the state Board of Elections to run for office in Rhode Island:

Rhode Island ACLU executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement today in response to Governor Lincoln Chafee’s signing into law a bill requiring voters to present photo identification in order to vote at the polls:

A diverse array of more than twenty organizations – including civil rights groups, labor unions, open government and community organizations, disability rights agencies and others – held a news conference this afternoon to criticize the Senate Judiciary Committee’s passage last night of a bill that will impose a photo identification requirement on all Rhode Island voters.

Various constitutionally problematic provisions in North Kingstown’s political sign ordinance have been rendered unenforceable under a consent judgment that has been filed in federal court, settling a lawsuit that the Rhode Island ACLU filed last year against the Town.

The Town of North Kingstown has agreed to the entry of a temporary restraining order limiting enforcement of a constitutionally problematic political sign ordinance that the Rhode Island ACLU challenged in federal court on Wednesday. The agreement eliminates the need for a planned court hearing this afternoon on the ACLU’s request for a restraining order.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of North Kingstown, challenging an ordinance that discriminatorily limits the posting of political signs in the town. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of independent Congressional candidate John O. Matson, who was forced to take down a number of his political signs this month after being notified that they violated the town’s zoning restrictions on the size and placement of such signs.

The Rhode Island ACLU was one of only two organizations to raise concerns about enactment of the statute passed in June by the General Assembly, and aimed at Central Falls, authorizing the state to appoint a “receiver” to “distressed” municipalities. The law was introduced, heard, voted on and signed into law within the space of less than 72 hours. RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown issued the following statement in response to Judge Silverstein’s ruling today upholding the law’s constitutionality:

As the result of a new law enacted last month by the General Assembly, the Rhode Island ACLU announced it will be seeking to dismiss two election lawsuits it filed last year – one against the City of Central Falls and the other against East Providence – that have been favorably rendered moot by the law.