Press & Media

WASHINGTON – Thirteen U.S. states closed a staggering 1,688 polling locations in just six years, according to a new report from The Leadership Conference Education Fund. The report, “Democracy Diverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote,” notes that 1,173 of the closures occurred between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections – underscoring the scale of this assault on U.S. democracy. Texas, Georgia, and Arizona top the list of highest closure rates between 2012 to 2018.

PHOENIX — The Leadership Conference Education Fund will hold a press call on Wednesday, September 11, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. MT to discuss its newly released report, “Democracy Diverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote.” A second iteration of original research first released in 2016, the report analyzes 757 of 861 counties and county-level equivalents previously covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which the U.S. Supreme Court gutted in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. The report explains how and why polling place closures have an increasingly detrimental impact on communities in states with histories of voter discrimination.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund will hold a national press call on Tuesday, September 10, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss its newly released report, “Democracy Diverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote.” A second iteration of original research first released in 2016, the report analyzes 757 of 861 counties and county-level equivalents previously covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which the U.S. Supreme Court gutted in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. The report explains how and why polling place closures are having an increasingly detrimental impact on communities in states with histories of voter discrimination.

WASHINGTON – Two civil rights leaders today outlined in SCOTUSblog why Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Sharon McGowan, chief strategy officer and legal director of Lambda Legal, authored the piece and previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division – with Gupta as acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division and McGowan as principal deputy chief of the Appellate Section.

WASHINGTON –The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Civil Rights Corps, and 115 civil rights and justice groups released a policy platform for the 2020 state and federal elections that proposes a unified vision for transforming our criminal-legal system into one that respects the humanity, dignity, and rights of all people.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund released “Civil Rights Principles for Safe, Healthy, and Inclusive School Climates” today to urge policymakers and other stakeholders to ensure that all students can learn in safe, healthy, and inclusive environments. Fifty-seven civil rights and education organizations signed onto the principles, asking members of Congress to fulfill their role in helping educators and communities create and maintain safe schools that afford all students equal educational opportunities by incorporating these principles into all relevant legislation.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund hosted an ethnic media briefing today to discuss our recently released policy recommendations for incorporating the Higher Education Civil Rights Coalition’s 10 civil rights principles into higher education legislation. Members of The Education Fund’s Higher Ed Civil Rights Coalition emphasized the importance of engaging and educating stakeholders and policymakers to ensure meaningful equal opportunity and success for all students.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund will hold an ethnic media briefing on Friday, August 30, at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT to discuss our recently released policy recommendations for incorporating the Higher Education Civil Rights Coalition’s 10 civil rights principles into higher education legislation. The recommendations were drafted to engage and educate diverse stakeholders and policymakers seeking reform in higher education to offer meaningful equal opportunity and success for all students, especially students of color who have been historically marginalized.