The assault on the right to vote witnessed in 2011 is historic in terms of its geographic scope and intensity. Legislation enacted in states across the country to require government-issued photo identification and/or prove citizenship to register to vote, make voter registration more difficult, and curtail early voting is nothing short of blatant vote suppression, the likes of which has not been seen in generations.
The Veterans Voting Support Act required that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) agree to state designations of its facilities as voter registration agencies under Section 7 of the NVRA.
Although photo ID and proof of citizenship proposals are offered as necessary to prevent fraud in elections, we know that the facts do not warrant these extreme measures.
New York, NY — As new unemployment figures show a still-staggering 9 percent of Americans out of work, a new report from the policy center Demos examines the degree that low income American families use credit to weather economic shocks, and draws out the impact of credit card debt on families' long-term financial stability.
Testimony of Demos Counsel Lisa J. Danetz before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Elections on the challenges the National Voter Registration Act presents to public assistance agencies.
The No Representation Without Population Act would correct within the state of Maryland a long-standing flaw in the decennial Census that counts incarcerated people as residents of the wrong location.
Testimony on the need to restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act’s protections against purposeful racial discrimination in jurisdictions that are subject to the Section 5 preclearance requirement.
Same Day Registration is a proven reform that can substantially increase voter turnout among eligible voters -- particularly among those with traditionally lower rates of voter participation -- without compromising the integrity of elections or substantially increasing costs.
ATLANTA, GA — Citing clear evidence that low-income Georgia residents are being denied a legally-mandated opportunity to register to vote, attorneys sent a pre-litigation notice letter to Secretary of State Brian Kemp demanding that the Secretary immediately act to bring Georgia into compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) or face litigation.
The state legislature should support the Maryland Law Enforcement and Governmental Trust Act (“Trust Act”) and its model of limiting state and local involvement with federal immigration law enforcement.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A coalition of voting rights groups scored a major victory yesterday in their lawsuit against New Mexico’s Human Services Division (HSD) and Secretary of State Mary Herrera, with a ruling by a U.S. District Judge that the State of New Mexico is in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
Previously, we sued the Texas Secretary of State for a flawed voter purge list that unlawfully went after naturalized citizens, who are fully entitled to vote. The judge just ordered that they not be removed from the rolls.
“Partisan gerrymandering distorts the political system. It’s often accompanied by the cracking and packing of voters of color to sap their political influence."
The marquee bill, which features improvements to voting, campaign finance, and ethics laws, addresses the deep political, racial, and economic inequalities that plague our democracy.
Senate Bill 672, which allows for Automated Voter Registration and Same Day Registration, if implemented properly, has the potential to increase the racial diversity of registered voters in New Mexico.