Richard Saks to be Panelist at National Commission on Voting Rights — Minnesota/Wisconsin Hearing

As part of a nation-wide series of hearings across the county, the National Commission on Voting Rights will convene at the University of Minnesota Law School on Feb. 25 from 4 pm to 8 pm. Attorney Richard Saks, who serves as counsel for the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP in various voting rights matters, and is also it Legal Redress Chair, will serve as a panelist and provide testimony on behalf of the Milwaukee NAACP Branch to the Commissioners, which will include former Vice President Walter Mondale. The hearings are designed to create a record of challenges and obstacles to the free exercise of voting rights across the country, and are being conducted in the wake of Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S Supreme Court decision invalidating Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The Commission seeks to create a record and a comprehensive report identifying discrimination and election administration problems to enable policymakers to reform or improve voting laws, including amendments to the Voting Rights Act. The Commission is a project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.