From the Dispatch

State Policymakers Need to Respond to Growing Clout of Latino Voters Nationwide

Suman Raghunathan — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:19:43 -0800

A recent report from the advocacy group America’s Voice highlighted the growing power of Latino voters in the upcoming 2010 elections. Latino voters played a critical role in 2008 to propel President Obama to victory in several key swing states that previously trended Republican, including Virginia. Latino voter registration and turnout rates have exploded over the past few years: roughly 10 million voted in the 2008 Presidential election alone, a 2.5 million increase from 2004 and 4 million person increase since 2000. Latino voter registration grew by over 54% between 2000 and 2008, and turnout grew 64% over the same time period.

9th Circuit Strikes Down Washington's Felon Voting Law

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:50:19 -0800

Last week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of disenfranchised felons in Washington, holding in a summary judgment order that the state's practice of denying the vote to felons violates the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). Notably, instead of basing their argument on the nature of the felon disenfranchisement law at issue, the case centered on the interaction between felon disenfranchisement and the discrimination in the criminal justice system itself.

Voter ID Law Struck Down by Indiana Appellate Court

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:14:59 -0700

Last week the Indiana Court of Appeals struck down the photo identification requirement for voting that was upheld by the US Supreme Court in its Crawford decision last year. In doing so, the court ruled on the basis of equal protection as guaranteed by Indiana's state constitution, which is more extensive than federal law. The Indiana court follows Missouri, whose photo ID requirement was found unconstitutional under that state's constitution in 2006.

Path Breaking Voter Registration Modernization Bill is Vetoed by Minnesota Governor Pawlenty

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:18:24 -0700

Minnesota legislators passed a landmark voter registration modernization bill recently that would, absent a veto, have registered or updated the registration of voters automatically when they applied for a driver's license, learner's permit or ID card. It would also use information in motor vehicle and corrections databases to verify and maintain voter rolls. This legislation, sponsored by Rep. Steve Simon and Sen. John Marty, would have made Minnesota the first state in the nation to proactively register voters, and made it among the most advanced in maintaining clean, accurate voter rolls. The bill was designed to build on the state's already first-in-the-nation portability bill, which requires automatic updates to voter registrations based on changes of address.

However, Governor Pawlenty vetoed this historic legislation last week...

Georgia Becomes 2nd State to Require Proof of Citizenship to Vote

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:59:57 -0700

Following Arizona's lead, Georgia has passed a law requiring that all residents prove their citizenship before they can register to vote. This is the most restrictive form of voter ID yet, and it is far more restrictive than the photo ID requirements that have been passed across the country. It has been enacted even though there is no indication that non-citizen voting is a problem in the state; in fact, Georgia election officials are confident that the current photo ID requirement is strict enough to prevent any problems from arising.

Florida Rightwing Attempts to Suppress Voting Rights with Election Restrictions

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 08:57:08 -0700

Just weeks before the end of the legislative session, rightwing lawmakers in Florida are advancing omnibus legislation that progressive voting rights advocates and legislators see as yet another scheme to reduce voter turnout and manipulate election rules to the benefit of conservatives.

E-verify: An Economic Burden to Businesses and State Budgets

Caroline Fan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:09:14 -0800

A new resource from our friends at the National Immigration Law Center emphasizes the costs to both businesses and local governments of trying to enforce immigration law in the workplace. As they note, the E-verify system - the electronic program that is currently voluntary for employers to use in comparing workers’ documents for employment eligibility against federal databases from the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration - imposes a range of costs:

Voter ID: The Landscape for 2009

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 09:51:31 -0800

As we noted in the Dispatch a couple weeks ago, despite a dearth of recent successes and mounting fiscal crises in most states, rightwing voter ID legislation designed to suppress voter turnout continues to be pressed around the country. So far this year at least 17 states have seen bills introduced to institute or enhance ID requirements for voting or registration (AL, CO, GA, IN, MD, MN, MS, MO, NY, OK, RI, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WY). It appears we now know enough to predict the landscape of the voter ID battles in this legislative session.

Battles Over Voter ID Requirements Loom Large in 2009 Sessions

Christian Smith-Socaris — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:49:22 -0800

Last year we saw the incredible wave of voter ID legislation promoted nationwide by rightwing activists seem to peter out. High profile campaigns for restrictive photo ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements, which limit the voting of many legal citizens (see here and here), were met with defeat. But the proponents of voter ID have apparently not been deterred. The good people at Project Vote, who have been monitoring voter ID legislation across the country, are finding that rightwing lawmakers in key states continue to place voter ID at the top of their to-do list. This is despite the passing of another election without any evidence of the type of fraud that voter ID requirements would help prevent - someone attempting to register and vote twice in the same state.

Battles Over Voter ID Requirements Loom Large in 2009 Sessions

Caroline Fan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:14:55 -0800