2025-26 Symposium - Minnesota Law Review

TheMinnesota Law Reviewinvites you to attend the Vol. 110 Symposium,“The Battle Will Not Be Over”: 60 Years of the Voting Rights Act.

As Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, he warned that it wouldn’t end the lengthy fight against disenfranchisement: “Even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over. What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of America.”

60 years later, advocates and activists continue to take to the streets, the polls, and the courts to call for greater access to the ballot box—and to limit the scope of the right to vote. This Symposium will look at some key voting rights battlegrounds of 2025: courts that are skeptical of any race-based state action; threats to the legal profession and public interest lawyering; and the lightning rod of immigration enforcement. It will unite lawyers, academics, policymakers, and activists to assess today’s greatest challenges to voting rights and develop effective solutions at the federal, state, and local levels.

The Symposium will take place on November 14, 2025 at the University of Minnesota Law School, located at 229 S. 19th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55454.

Complete the RSVP form to confirm attendance today.Please contact Annemarie Foy, MLR’s Symposium Articles Editor, atfoy00016@umn.edu, with any questions!

8:15 AM - 8:45 AM | Check-In, Coffee, and Light Breakfast

9:00 AM - 10:20 AM | The Voting Rights Act at 60: Current Provisions and Upcoming Challenges

Panelists will explore the modern Voting Rights Act (VRA), including its current operating provisions, application, and enforcement. The conversation will also cover novel vote restriction strategies presented in federal courts and endorsed by the current presidential administration. Finally, the conversation will cover the two VRA cases that have reached the Supreme Court this term:Louisiana v. Callais, which had oral arguments in October, andTurtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians v. Howe, which still has a pending petition for certiorari.

10:30 AM - 11:50 AM | Advocating for Voting Rights: The Litigators’ Perspective

Voting rights attorneys will discuss barriers to litigation, legal strategies, and collaboration with clients and advocacy groups. Panelists have experience in both state-level litigation and national practice. The panel will also touch on the merits of litigation vs. legislation in the voting rights arena.

ProfessorGilda Danielswill discuss disenfranchisement through the lens of history, race, law, and the democratic process.

1:30 PM - 2:50 PM | Immigration, Identity, and the Right to Vote

Immigration and civil rights scholars will address immigrants’ voting rights and election accessibility, the impact of anti-immigration sentiment on voting rights laws, the use of criminal voting penalties to enforce immigration laws, and gerrymandering and the dilution of immigrant community voices. The panel will also address modern social movements, more broadly, in the context of voting rights.

3:00 PM - 4:20 PM | State and Local Action to Safeguard Voting Rights

Several state legislatures have taken up the mantle of voting rights. Minnesota’s recent legislative action, including a new state Voting Rights Act, could be a model for other states. A discussion on this topic will also cover state constitutional amendments enshrining an affirmative right to vote, mid-decade redistricting, and local-level reform.