Luis Segovia is a patriotic citizen and a proud veteran who served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan\u2014yet he cannot vote for President and lacks voting representation in Congress simply because of where he lives. <\/p>\n
Segovia, who lives in Guam, along with a group of veterans and others living in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, would be able to vote for President and have voting representation in Congress if they lived in any other U.S. territory or even a foreign country. <\/p>\n
But under federal and state overseas voting laws, former state residents have their right to vote for President and voting representation in Congress protected if they move to certain favored territories or foreign countries, but\u00a0not\u00a0if they move to certain territories. After the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed their equal protection claims earlier this year, the plaintiffs in\u00a0Segovia v. United States\u00a0are seeking review by the Supreme Court in a\u00a0petition\u00a0filed with the court yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had moved to any U.S. territory except Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or even to a foreign country, I could still vote for President today. This kind of discrimination isn\u2019t just morally wrong, it\u2019s unconstitutional,\u201d\u00a0said Segovia, lead plaintiff in\u00a0Segovia v. United States.\u00a0\u201cMy right to vote should not depend on my zip code.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo American should be denied voting representation in the laws they are required to follow,\u201d said Pamela Colon, a plaintiff living in St. Croix,\u00a0who earlier in her career served as a federal public defender in the U.S. Virgin Islands. \u201cThe lack of democratic accountability in U.S. territories violates America\u2019s most basic values. This is especially true when you consider that the federal judges and federal prosecutors who enforce federal law in the territories are nominated by a President we can\u2019t vote for and confirmed by a Senate where we lack any representation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Seventh Circuit\u2019s ruling conflicts with decisions of other federal circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court in a number of significant ways,\u201d\u00a0said Neil Weare, president and founder of Equally American, a non-profit organization that advocates for equality and civil rights for the nearly 4 million Americans who live in U.S. territories. \u201cWe hope these \u2018circuit splits\u2019 will encourage the Supreme Court to grant review of this important case.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Seventh Circuit ruled that the\u00a0Segovia\u00a0plaintiffs lack legal standing to even challenge federal overseas voting laws, a holding that directly conflicts with other federal circuits. It also held that heightened judicial scrutiny does not apply in the absence of an underlying constitutional right to vote, which stands in conflict with other federal circuits and decisions by the Supreme Court. Finally, the Seventh Circuit held that voting laws can survive rational basis review based on facts that ceased to be true decades ago, a ruling that also conflicts with both circuit and Supreme Court precedent.<\/p>\n
Segovia is a member of the Guam Army National Guard, serving two deployments to Afghanistan. He also was deployed to provide security during the 2005 Iraqi elections.\u00a0\u00a0Also serving as plaintiffs in Guam are Anthony Bunten, another veteran, and the Iraq, Afghanistan and Persian Gulf veterans of the Pacific. Leevin Camacho serves as local counsel.<\/p>\n
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, plaintiffs include Pamela Colon, a criminal defense lawyer, Lavonne Wise, and the League of Women Voters for the Virgin Islands. Semaj Johnson serves as local counsel.<\/p>\n
In Puerto Rico, plaintiffs include Jose Antonio Torres, a disabled Vietnam-era veteran who also served for 22 years in the U.S. postal service, and\u00a0Tomas Ares, another Vietnam-era veteran.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Segovia\u00a0plaintiffs are seeking a ruling that former state residents living in Guam, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands are able enjoy the same absentee voting rights as those living in other territories or a foreign country. They believe that this incremental expansion of voting rights will help create the necessary political pressure in Congress to achieve full enjoyment of the right to vote for all residents of U.S. territories, which is their ultimate goal. Toward this end, Equally American is working outside the courtroom to advance political solutions so that Americans in U.S. territories have the same voting rights and representation as Americans anywhere.<\/p>\n
A decision by the Supreme Court on whether to review the Seventh Circuit\u2019s decision in\u00a0Segovia v. United States\u00a0is expected when the Supreme Court begins its new term this fall.<\/p>\n
All case filings, including the petition, are available at\u00a0http:\/\/www.equalrightsnow.org\/segovia. (PR)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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