Segovia v. United States is a federal voting rights lawsuit which seeks to expand the right to vote in U.S. territories by arguing that the right to vote as an American should not depend on where you live.

Equally American represents six U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands who are challenging federal and state laws that deny them the right to vote for President and voting representation in Congress while protecting full enjoyment of the right to vote for citizens living in other U.S. territories as well as in foreign countries.  Guam-based Veterans organization, Iraq Afghanistan and Persian Gulf Veterans of the Pacific, and the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands are also plaintiffs in the case.

Lead plaintiff Luis Segovia, a U.S. citizen who lives in Guam with his family, served an 18 month tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army, a 12 month tour in Afghanistan with the Illinois National Guard, and a 10 month tour in Afghanistan as part of the Guam National Guard.  In Iraq, he helped provide security for the 2005 Iraqi elections.  He was deployed on his second tour to Afghanistan just months after the 2012 presidential elections, unable to vote for President.  Read more about the other plaintiffs in the complaint.

Under the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) and Illinois’ Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (“MOVE”) law, a former resident of Illinois who is now a resident of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, or a foreign country can continue voting for President and voting representation in Congress in Illinois by absentee ballot.  But plaintiffs – each a former resident of Illinois – have lost full enjoyment of their right to vote by virtue of living in Puerto Rico, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Neil Weare, President of Equally American, provides a further overview of the case for The Huffington Post.

Watch Senator Elizabeth Warren stand up for voting rights in U.S. territories and call the challenged discrimination "absurd" here.

The lawsuit is part of a broader effort to advocate for full voting rights for every American, whether one lives in a State, Territory, or the District of Columbia.  To show your support, sign our Equal Rights Petition now at www.EquallyAmerican.org.

We are working to bring this important case to the Supreme Court, but we need your help to do so. Help us advance voting rights in the territories and support our appeal in Segovia v. United States by donating to our CrowdJustice page.

Case Filings

Supreme Court of the United States (docket here)

• September 11, 2018, Petitioners' Reply Brief
• August 29, 2018, Brief in Opposition, filed by Federal Respondents
• August 24, 2018, Letter by Chicago Board of Election Commissioners (taking no position)
• August 24, 2018, Letter by Rock Island County Clerk (taking no position)
• June 28, 2018, U.S. Virgin Islands Amicus Brief
• June 28, 2018, Constitutional Law Professors Amicus Brief
• May 23, 2018, Puerto Rico Amicus Brief
• May 23, 2018, Voting Rights Scholars Amicus Brief
• May 23, 2018, Virgin Islands Bar Association Amicus Brief
• April 23, 2018, Petition for Writ of Certiorari, filed by the Segovia Petitioners
  
  • Appendix (decisions below and relevant constitutional and statutory provisions)

U.S. Circuit Court for the Seventh Circuit

• January 18, 2018, Seventh Circuit Opinion
• September 12, 2017, Response to 28(j) Letter on Remedy, Filed by Segovia Plaintiffs
• September 11, 2017, 28(j) Letter on Remedy, Filed by Federal Defendants
• June 30, 2017, Reply Brief Appellants, Filed by Segovia Plaintiffs
• June 9, 2017, Brief of Federal Appellees, Filed by Federal Defendants
• June 9, 2017, Brief of State Appellees, Filed by State Defendants
• August 19, 2017, Amicus Brief by Scholars of Constitutional Law and Legal History, Filed by WilmerHale
• April 12, 2017, Brief of Appellants, Filed by Segovia Plaintiffs

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

• Notice of Appeal, December 27, 2016
• October 28, 2016, Order, Denying Second Motion For Summary Judgment (Judge Gottschall)
• October 21, 2016, Reply in Support of Second Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Segovia Plaintiffs
• October 19, 2016, Cross Motion for Summary Judgment and Opposition to Plaintiffs Second Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Federal Defendants
• October 19, 2016, Opposition to Plaintiffs Second Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Chicago Defendants
• October 19, 2016, Opposition to Plaintiffs Second Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Rock Island Defendant
• September 23, 2016, Second Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Segovia Plaintiffs
• August 23, 2016, Opinion and Order (Judge Gottschall)
• May 17, 2016, Reply in Support of Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Federal Defendants
• May 3, 2016, Reply in Support of Summary Judgment and Opposition to Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Segovia plaintiffs
• April 18, 2016, Opposition to Summary Judgment, Reply to Motion to Dismiss, filed by Federal Defendants
• March 16, 2016, Motion for Summary Judgment, Opposition to Motion to Dismiss, filed by Segovia plaintiffs
• February 10. 2016, Motion to Dismiss, filed by Federal Defendants
• December 8, 2015, Answer, filed by Rock Island County Clerk
• December 4, 2015, Answer, filed by Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
• November 11, 2015, Complaint, filed by Segovia plaintiffs

Case Updates

• U.S. Virgin Islands, ConLaw Professors Support Supreme Court Voting Rights Appeal (posted June 28, 2018)
• Supreme Court Appeal In Territorial Voting Rights Case Gets Boost From Three Amicus Briefs (posted May 23, 2018)
• Disenfranchised Residents of U.S. Territories Seek Supreme Court Review (posted April 23, 2018)

Press Coverage

• WATCH: Untold America – Should Guam be independent?, AJ+ Twitter, July 10, 2018
• Puerto Rico, others, support territorial voting rights case, Guam Pacific Daily News by Steve Limtiaco, May 31, 2018
• Fight for Presidential Vote Goes to U.S. Supreme Court, The St. John Source, April 24, 2018
• Crowdfunding a Century-Old Fight for Voting Rights, The Atlantic by Vann R. Newkirk II, Feb. 27, 2017
• LISTEN: Millions of Americans can't vote for president because of where they live, Public Radio International by Maria Murriel, Nov. 1, 2016

Other Resources

• WATCH: CrowdJustice – Segovia v. United States, CrowdJustice, Feb. 7, 2017
• WATCH: Sen. Elizabeth Warren arguing for Territorial Voting Rights, U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, April 7, 2016
• WATCH: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – U.S. Territories, HBO, March 8, 2015
• WATCH: Island of Warriors, PBS, October 11, 2014