NEWARK, NJ — In an effort to increase voter participation in the Garden State, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and other high-profile voter rights' advocates, during a public forum today, will urge New Jersey to reform state election law to allow residents in future elections to register to vote up to and including Election Day. This proposal, if adopted, would replacing the current system under which anyone who registers less than 21 days before an election is barred from voting until the following election.
New York, NY — Provisional ballots could again be a leading concern at the polls this year, with new figures showing one in three — more than 650,000 of 2 million cast--were left uncounted or discarded in 2004, according to a new briefing paper by Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy and research center.
New York, NY — Millions of eligible voters could lose their right to vote in coming years if new state and national photo identification and proof of citizenship requirements for voting are implemented, according to a new briefing paper published by Demos, a national public policy and research center. The paper, part of Demos' 2006 Challenges to Fair Elections Series, offers evidence that new and prospective voter ID requirements, in states and on the national level, have been advanced without adequate consideration of facts or the potential impact on voting rights.
New York, NY — Economic Opportunity and a healthy democracy should be central focuses of America's political debate, according to a new policy briefing book published today by Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a national, non-partisan public policy, research and advocacy organization.
Cleveland, OH —A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
Cleveland, OH — A federal lawsuit filed in Cleveland today charges that Ohio's Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell, and the Director of its Department of Job and Family Services (DJFS), Barbara Riley, have violated the rights of thousands of low-income Ohioans by failing to provide voter registration opportunities in public assistance offices as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The NVRA is a federal law enacted 13 years ago to encourage voter registration and turnout in elections.
New York, NY — Demos, a leading national public policy organization, denounced the passage of the House of Representatives bill (H.R. 4844) also known as the "Federal Election Integrity Act of 2006," which would require all voters to obtain and present government-issued photo ID by 2008, and present proof of citizenship before voting in 2010.
New York, NY — The organizations listed below respectfully submitted public comments today seeking improvements in draft New York State Database Regulations.
WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Supreme Court today announced its decision in Randall v. Sorrell, a case addressing the constitutionality of Vermont's comprehensive campaign finance law, passed in 1997.
Stuart Comstock-Gay, Executive Director of the National Voting Rights Institute, which defended the law alongside the state of Vermont, had this statement on the decision.
New York, NY — Today the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Demos, and the Legal Action Center, three leading national public policy organizations, praised the New York Assembly Committee on Election Law for passing the Voting Rights Notification and Registration Act on June 14th, a bill that would reduce barriers to voting by individuals with felony convictions.
Columbus, OH — Ohio's noncompliance with a federal voter registration law could land the state in legal jeopardy, according to a letter sent by several national voting rights and election reform organizations to Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. In the letter, dated May 12, 2006, Blackwell was warned that Ohio's continuing failure to comply with a 13-year old federal law that requires states to offer voter registration to its low-income citizens could lead to a lawsuit. A prominent national law firm has already taken the first step in initiating litigation against the state.
New York, NY — Many of New York's local boards of election are systematically and illegally preventing thousands of eligible New Yorkers from registering to vote, according to a new study released by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Demos.
New York, NY — Today, Demos, a national, non-partisan public policy organization that studies economic security issues in the United States, announced the launch of the new Around the Kitchen Table online. Published at www.aroundthekitchentable.org, this monthly news journal offers commentary, analysis and fresh perspectives on how national economic trends in debt, assets, education and income play out around the kitchen tables of individuals and families in America.
New York, NY — Today, Demos, a national election reform and voting rights organization, issued the following statement condemning the passage of new restrictive voter ID requirements in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue have already signed the bills, while the bills in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania will arrive at their governors' desks next week.
Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell University, for instance, found that in counties with the widest income gaps, rates of personal bankruptcy and divorce rates were higher than average.
New York, NY — Today marks the release of a groundbreaking new book; STRAPPED: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead (Doubleday; On-Sale January 17, 2006), written by Tamara Draut, Economic Opportunity Director at Demos.
Draut argues that "with the possible exception of having a larger array of entertainment and other goods to purchase, members of Generation X appear to be worse off by every measure" than prior generations.
According to the advocacy group Demos, the average balance among lower- and middle-income households is $8,650.
"World News Tonight's" special series "Credit Crunch" aims to help you get on the road to becoming debt free.
A fraudulent appraisal "can lead homeowners to borrow more money than their homes are worth, putting themselves at risk of being 'upside down' in a home -- e.g. not being able to sell for a high enough price to pay off their mortgage," according to a briefing paper on appraisal fraud put out by Demos, a New York-based think tank.