Educating and engaging the public is crucial to the mission of the ACLU of Alabama. By providing information to the public about Constitutional rights, individuals are better able to advocate for civil liberties for themselves and their communities.
The right to vote is fundamental to democracy, and we at the ACLU of Alabama believe that registering and voting should be as easy as possible. We provide information online and in person so that Alabama voters understand voter ID laws, absentee ballots, registration deadlines, crossover voting, and other regulations.
Alabama law punishes people who have committed certain crimes by restricting their right to vote. Some disenfranchised voters are eligible to restore their right to vote. We have created educational materials and clinics to assist those who were formerly incarcerated in navigating the voting rights restoration process.
Whether facing the criminal justice system or the immigration detention and deportation system, knowing your rights can make a difference. By understanding your rights, you may be able to avoid letting ICE agents into your home without permission, answering questions you don't have to answer, and other possible scenarios.
By arming people with information, impacted communities can come together, talk about the challenges they are facing, and empower each other to stand up and fight.
Analyzing public policies, testifying on bills, and influencing policy-makers are important techniques to prevent the government from infringing on people's rights.
The ACLU, however, is nonpartisan, and does not endorse political candidates. We do support ballot initiatives that promote civil liberties.
At 167% capacity, Alabama prisons are the most overcrowded in the country, and the prison population has grown almost fives times since 1980. Our prison system cannot sustain this number of people coming in and staying for lengthy sentences without making some changes.
We are committed to reducing the strain of mass incarceration by focusing on finding bipartisan opportunities to reform how many people are sent to prison and for how long.
People should be able to live, work, and seek healthcare without fear of discrimination or restrictions based on other's religious beliefs.
We have been working for marriage equality and access to abortion in Alabama for years, and we will continue to watch the state legislature for bills that seek to restrict rights and sanction discrimination.
Helping people secure their rights through negotiation and lawsuits when necessary is one of the main tools available to us to protect individual rights. We litigate cases, both directly and as amicus curiae (friend of the court), in order to broaden and strengthen civil liberties.
As state policy makers pass laws and enact policies that make it harder for people to access birth control, abortion, and other reproductive services, the ACLU of Alabama has fought back at every turn.
Through our litigation, we have ensured that Alabama can never terminate its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood without cause, we have recently had four separate restrictions that impacted a woman's access to abortion struck down for being unconstitutional, and we stopped minors from being subjected to a trial-like procedure when seeking an abortion without parental consent.
From Black Lives Matter to the Women's March, from #TakeAKnee to Standing Rock, people are exercising their First Amendment rights across the nation in a wave of activism unlike anything we have seen in decades.
We stand up for the rights of protesters across the political spectrum to speak their minds without fear of government surveillance or harassment.
In Alabama, we have also protected citizens from being silenced for speaking out against big business.
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