Practice Areas

Constitution — Voting Rights
Cooper & Kirk has litigated numerous voting rights cases arising both under the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution. Recent examples include a successful defense of Florida’s felon voting laws and multiple cases defending North Carolina voting laws.
North Carolina Voter ID Litigation Issue
North Carolina Voter ID Law
Issue
North Carolina Voter ID Law
North Carolina Voter ID Law
Overview We represent members of the North Carolina General Assembly defending North Carolina’s 2018 voter-identification law against federal- and state-court challenges under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Constitution, and the North Carolina Constitution.
Howell v. McAuliffe 788 S.E.2d 706 (Va.) Issue
Virginia Voting Rights Level of Court
Virginia Supreme Court
Issue
Virginia Voting Rights
Virginia Voting Rights
Level of Court
Virginia Supreme Court
Virginia Supreme Court
Overview We successfully represented six plaintiffs, including the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and the Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate, in a challenge to the Governor of Virginia’s en masse restoration of voting rights to convicted fellons. The principal issue in this litigation was the scope of the Governor’s clemency power. After expedited briefing and oral argument, the Supreme Court of Virginia agreed with us that the text and history of Virginia Constitution’s prohibited the Governor from restoring voting rights en masse.
Rossello-Gonzalez v. Calderon-Serra 398 F.3d 1 (1st Circuit) Issue
Governor of Puerto Rico Elect Recount Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - First Circuit
Issue
Governor of Puerto Rico Elect Recount
Governor of Puerto Rico Elect Recount
Level of Court
US Court of Appeals - First Circuit
US Court of Appeals - First Circuit
Overview We successfully represented the Governor-Elect of Puerto Rico in a recount dispute in connection with the 2004 elections. The opposing candidate for governor challenged the validity of several thousand ballots. Although the district court ruled in favor of the opposition candidate, the First Circuit reversed and ruled in favor of our client, who became the Commonwealth’s governor.
Reapportionment Board of Alaska – State Redistricting Issue
Alaska State Legislative Redistricting
Issue
Alaska State Legislative Redistricting
Alaska State Legislative Redistricting
Overview We represented the Reapportionment Board of Alaska, which is responsible for that State’s redistricting, with respect to the Voting Rights Act and constitutional issues involved in that process. In that regard, we successfully urged the Justice Department to approve the Board’s state legislative redistricting, over the objections of several Native Alaskan groups alleging minority vote dilution.
Georgia Voting Rights Issue
Section 5 Consolidation Plan
Issue
Section 5 Consolidation Plan
Section 5 Consolidation Plan
Overview The City of Augusta, Georgia, and Richmond County, Georgia, retained us to seek a declaratory judgment granting Section 5 approval to a proposed plan consolidating the county and city governments, notwithstanding a prior Section 5 objection to the plan by the Department of Justice. We were also retained by the State of Georgia to assist it in obtaining Section 5 approval of electoral changes involving state judges.