January 1996 Home   Newsletters

February 1996

March 1996

President's Message (Suzanne Meisenzahl)
Vote Counts Cancelled (Arlene Ellis)
Report of the Membership Recruitment Committee (Grace Furukawa)
League on "Oahu Speaks" Special
Cheryl Soon to Speak at P&Z Committee Meeting (Astrid Monson)
Testimony on Bill Relating to Development Agreements
State News - House Committee on Finance: Taxation
Court Monitoring Project Underway
National News - Challenge to National Voter Registration Act
Action Call
Condolences
Many Voices One Vision
Membership
Annual United Nations Wrap-Up (insert) (Margery Cohen)

National News - Supreme Court Rejects California's Challenge to the National Voter Registration Act

Washington, D.C. – The United States Supreme Court has denied certiori and in so doing refused to consider California's constitutional challenge to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), also known as motor voter. This decision ends the constitutional challenges to motor voter.

"This case ends the legal controversy. The vast majority of states are already implementing the law. It's time to end the political games. It's time for opponents to stop resisting a law whose effectiveness has already been proven in state after state," said Becky Cain, President of the League of Women Voters of the United States.

California, which had the worst voter registration record in the nation prior to motor voter, was one of seven states that challenged the law. (The other states were Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, Virginia) In every case, federal courts, and now the U.S. Supreme Court, have upheld its constitutionality.

The NVRA has registered ten million citizens since its implementation in January 1995. This number is expected to jump as California and other recalcitrant states implement the new law.

"Thanks to motor voter, the upcoming elections offer a tremendous opportunity to make the electorate larger, more inclusive and more diverse," continued Ms. Cain.

January 1996 Home   Newsletters March 1996