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Overview
Nov 06 2008
The right wing has lost the trust and confidence of the vast majority of the American people. The nation is seeing a surge in new voters who moving the country in a new direction. To maintain their electoral viability conservatives have redoubled longstanding efforts to suppress the votes of those they think are least likely to support their failed policies.
Progressives must fight back and protect the fundamental right to vote for every American in order to secure the equitable and prosperous future we all hope to see. This fight requires two strategies – holding the line against attacks on the right to vote such as voter ID laws and proof of citizenship requirements (and rolling them back where applicable), and putting forth strong voter protection and anti-“caging” policies that strongly sanction attempts to prevent people from voting, such as voter deception.Progressives need to take pro-active action to expand the vote, both through protecting community-based registration drives and supporting the re-enfranchisement of ex-prisoners seeking to return to the mainstream of civic life.
From The Dispatch
Core Analysis
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The New Face of Jim Crow: Voter Suppression in America - People for the American Way
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The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Suppression in America - People for the American Way
Fact Sheets
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Voter Suppression Incidents 2008 - The Brennan Center has compiled a comprehensive synopsis of current voter suppression incidents around the country. The stories are categorized by theme, and this document will be continually updated in the days prior to the election.
In the News
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CA: Voter ID initiative backers get green light - Press Telegram - Backers of an initiative that would require voters to produce identification at the polls were given approval to begin gathering signatures Tuesday by Secretary of State Debra Bowen. <span id="RDS_article"> <p> Backers of what supporters have dubbed the Vote Safe Now Initiative must collect valid signatures from 433,971 registered voters by May 6 to qualify for the November 2010 ballot. </p> </span>
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ME: First In The Nation Prison Voter Drive Held - WCSH - In most states, someone convicted of a crime - rape, murder, theft or drunk driving among them - forfeits their right to vote. But Maine and Vermont allow even convicted felons to cast ballots. <p> Yesterday the NAACP sponsored a voter registration drive throughout Maine's correctional system. It's the first of it's kind in the nation and organizers are hoping it helps prompt change in other state laws. </p>
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MS: Analysis - Lack of voter ID law on ballot no surprise - <p> Memphis Commercial Appeal - That a voter identification initiative won't make it on the 2010 ballot is likely of no surprise to its Republican Party sponsors or Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, who delivered the message to legislative leaders this past week. </p> <p> In the 17 years since Mississippi's initiative law was enacted, only two citizen-sponsored constitutional amendments have made it to the ballot. Both dealt with term limits, and both were soundly defeated. Of the 30 initiatives sponsored since 1993, only six remain active, including the GOP-backed plan to make voters show ID at the polls. </p> <p> </p>
Resource Organizations
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Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law - Voting Rights Project - For four decades, the Lawyers' Committee has been at the forefront of the legal struggle to secure racial justice and equal access to the electoral process for all voters. Today, that tradition continues. With the indispensable assistance of private law firms, the Voting Rights Project is an integrated program of Litigation, Advocacy and Education.
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People for the American Way - Right to Vote - People For the American Way is dedicated to making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. The right to seek justice in a court of law. The right to cast a vote that counts. The American Way.
