Archive

On Election Day in 2013, I took my four children with me to watch me register to vote and cast my ballot in a city election in my small town in Iowa. Earlier that day, my daughter's class learned about the meaning of democracy and the importance of elections.Two months after I cast my ballot as a civics lesson for my daughter, the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation agents parked across the ... Read More

We've seen a wave of voter suppression laws across the country in recent years, which many have rightly characterized as a cynical attempt by politicians to manipulate the rules of the game.Yesterday, however, we heard directly from voters in three states, who overwhelmingly voted in favor of a system free from barriers, fairly administered, and equally accessible to all.Montanans faced a ballot m... Read More

It appears the Federal Aviation Administration may have fallen into the "constitutional sinkhole" that is Ferguson, Missouri. Earlier this week, the Associated Press released an alarming set of documents revealing the FAA's decision to approve a no-fly zone over Ferguson – a no-fly zone requested by local police in order to muzzle media coverage of protests in the wake of the killing of unarmed bl... Read More

As the 2014 California legislative session came to an end, you may have seen headlines about California passing a “first-in-the-nation law.” While these headlines covered issues such as the statewide plastic-bag ban, they also applied to landmark civil liberties and civil rights legislation sponsored by the ACLU of California. Read More

Accessing medicine prescribed by a doctor should never be a crime, but Shasta County’s Measure A would make some medical marijuana cultivation a misdemeanor offense. Sick people should not be criminalized for their efforts to grow the medicine necessary to deal with the pain of debilitating diseases. Read More

The ACLU of California is opposed to Proposition 46, the Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Cap and Drug Testing of Doctors initiative, because it violates the right to privacy and improperly addresses three different subjects. Read More

Filmmaker Laura Poitras, director of CITIZENFOUR, met with Anthony Romero, ACLU executive director, to discuss her film, the surveillance state, and Edward Snowden. Read More

California leaders have concluded another legislative session bringing significant new rights and opportunities to the state's 10 million immigrants. Read More

Today the ACLU, along with a coalition of partner organizations, went to Facebook to urge it to fix its flawed “real name” policy and provide users meaningful due process.During that meeting Facebook apologized for the harm that the current policy has caused users, especially those in the LGBTQ community, and promised to improve its reporting, enforcement, and appeals processes.This is an importan... Read More

Today the ACLU is joining a broad coalition at Facebook’s headquarters and urging the social network to allow users to speak in their chosen voice by fixing its flawed “real name” policy. Read More