News & Commentary

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against the City of East Providence, challenging City Charter provisions that impose increased burdens, above and beyond what state law requires, on candidates who wish to run for local office. The lawsuit was filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Angel Taveras on behalf of Brian Monteiro, an unsuccessful Ward 2 candidate for the East Providence School Committee in the 2008 primary election.

The Rhode Island ACLU has today filed a federal lawsuit against Rhode Island elections officials on behalf of the Moderate Party of Rhode Island (MPRI), challenging the State’s restrictive ballot access laws. The lawsuit, filed by RI ACLU volunteer attorney Mark W. Freel, argues that the laws unconstitutionally impede the ability of fledgling groups like MPRI from gaining formal recognition as a political party.

The Rhode Island ACLU today announced the favorable settlement of its lawsuit against the state and the Town of Richmond on behalf of Rhode Island Representative-Elect Rod Driver, whose political signs were repeatedly removed by town officials during a campaign for office in 2006.

The Rhode Island ACLU is distributing throughout the state a voting rights card designed to inform people of their rights in next month’s Presidential election, in an effort to assist voters during what is supposed to be a record turn-out on November 4th. The ACLU is also staffing a voting rights hotline through Election Day to address voters’ questions or problems. (The card is available in Spanish as well.)

In response to a Rhode Island ACLU lawsuit filed last week, U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres this morning entered a temporary restraining order (TRO) against enforcement of the Town of West Warwick’s political sign ordinance. The ordinance had been challenged by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of town resident and state legislative candidate Thomas K. Jones.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a federal lawsuit against the Town of West Warwick, challenging its discriminatory enforcement of an ordinance that significantly limits the posting of political signs in the town. The suit was filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Richard A. Sinapi on behalf of town resident Thomas K. Jones, who is both a state legislative candidate and an outspoken critic of plans to develop a water park in the town. The suit argues not only that the ordinance violates Jones’ freedom of speech, but also that it has been enforced against him by town officials in a discriminatory manner. Although signs that he has displayed have been cited for violating the ordinance, dozens of other political signs supporting other candidates have not been cited at all.

Calling it “essential” to ensure that the legitimate votes of potentially thousands of voters do not get disqualified on November 4th, the Rhode Island ACLU and Common Cause/RI have urged local Boards of Canvassers (BOC) to take steps to notify individually all voters in their communities of their polling location. The request was made in a letter sent by the two groups to all BOCs in the state.

The Rhode Island ACLU today filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of a recently-adopted Board of Elections’ (“Board”) regulation that the ACLU claims may improperly disenfranchise certain voters on Election Day. The suit, filed by ACLU volunteer attorney Angel Taveras in R.I. Superior Court, specifically addresses the situation of qualified but unregistered voters who have the right, under state law, to go to their city or town hall on Election Day and cast a limited ballot for President and Vice-President.

Ruling in an ACLU case, a federal judge has struck down a state law that was used by the Town of Richmond to repeatedly remove former Congressional candidate Rod Driver’s political signs from private property during the 2006 election. In a 25-page opinion, Judge William Smith agreed with the ACLU that the statute violated Driver’s First Amendment rights.