States are failing low-income communities and our nation's democracy by not adequately complying with federal law that requires human services agencies to provide voter registration services.
Des Moines, Iowa — Today, national voting rights groups ACORN, Demos, and Project Vote released a report highlighting Iowa's "best practices" for offering voter registration in human services agencies offices, as required by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The new study, A Promise Unfulfilled: Ten Years Later, finds most states noncompliant with this NVRA requirement, known as "Section 7", more than a decade after it was passed into law.
New York, NY — As the National Governor's Association convenes today in Des Moines, Iowa, the Right to Vote Campaign applauds Governors Vilsack, Warner, Guinn, Riley, and others who took action to restore voting rights for thousands of people with felony convictions.
New York, NY — As the National Association of Secretaries of State convenes today in St. Paul, Minnesota, the Right to Vote Campaign applauds Secretaries Pedro A. Cortes of Pennsylvania, Rebecca Vigil-Giron of New Mexico, and Cathy Cox of Georgia in their efforts to streamline the process for restoring voting rights to thousands of people with felony convictions by making registration information more easily accessible.
New York, NY — In the shadow of the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Foley Square, standing before the African Burial Ground Memorial Sculpture, New Yorkers representing persons with felony convictions will stand in silent protest on June 22, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. to demand the full restoration of voting rights to the formerly incarcerated.
New York, NY — Today, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, joined by a bipartisan group of legislators, issued an executive order that restores voter eligibility to thousands of disfranchised Iowans. Previously, Iowa was among only a handful of states that permanently denies the right to vote to people with felony convictions. Felon disfranchisement has been criticized across the country for unfairly excluding citizens from the electoral process and for its discriminatory impact on minority communities, who are disproportionately represented in the U.S. prison population.
New York, N.Y. — Today, a coalition of New York State voting rights and civics organizations announced a press conference for Thursday, June 2, to urge a legislative conference committee in Albany to reject dangerous measures that would restrict voter access to the polls. All mayoral candidates have been invited to speak in support of New York City voters. Thus far, Gifford Miller has confirmed his attendance.
New York, NY — African-American and Hispanic households are at greater financial risk and more likely to be in credit card debt than their white counterparts, according to a new report, Costly Credit: African Americans and Latinos in Debt, released today by the Economic Opportunity Program at Demos, a leading national, non-partisan public policy and advocacy group. The report analyzed and compared credit card debt and the forces driving credit card reliance in three ethnic/racial groups: African Americans, Hispanics and whites.
New York, N.Y. — In an effort to reduce widespread barriers faced by New York City's voters, the New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations, Chaired by Councilmember Bill Perkins, will hold a hearing on Monday, May 2, 2005, to consider legislation that would reform the city's administration of elections.
New York, N.Y. — New York, NY- Concerned about widespread misinformation about voter eligibility and proper voter registration and balloting procedures in New York State, Unlock The Block: Release the Vote, a New York voting rights restoration coalition that is housed at Demos and includes the Legal Action Center and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, will testify at a public hearing in Westchester County on Monday April 18th.
New York, NY / Washington, DC — Today, Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a national economic policy research organization, urges Congress to recognize the fragility of our debt-driven consumer economy when considering the bankruptcy "reform" bill (S. 256/H.R. 685) that has been passed by the Senate and is now under consideration in the House of Representatives. Short of opposing this dangerous legislation, the House should at least include amendments that will protect our nation's families from the most deleterious provisions.
NEW YORK — A new report released today, Home Insecurity: How Widespread Appraisal Fraud Puts Homeowners At Risk, reveals troubling evidence that many American homeowners and buyers are at financial risk from mortgage appraisal fraud. As a consequence, countless homeowners have borrowed more money than their homes are really worth. The report was conducted by Demos, a leading non-partisan, public policy group headquartered in New York City.
Albany, NY — Members of the Joint Legislative Conference Committee on HAVA Implementation have made substantial progress. However, key issues remain unresolved.
At a news conference today representatives of good government, voting rights, and civil rights organizations voiced concern that legislation proposed by the Senate leadership would undermine HAVA's most important purpose - making sure that every eligible voter gets to vote.
New York, NY and Washington, DC — Today, Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a national economic policy research organization, urges Congress to halt movement on the bankruptcy "reform" bill (S. 256 and H.R. 685) that will be introduced in the Senate on Monday, February 28, 2005. Congress must recognize of the fragility of our debt-driven consumer economy, and address the economic conditions that have brought about a household debt crisis in America.
New York, NY/Los Angeles, CA — A new report, Drawing Lines: A Public Interest Guide to Real Redistricting Reform, released today by Demos and the Center for Governmental Studies, shows that current legislation and proposed initiatives on redistricting all fail to sufficiently address the needs of the public, and suggests clear guidelines for much fairer redistricting.
New York, NY — Today, Demos: A Network for Ideas and Action announces the launch of its new Bankruptcy & Debt Clearinghouse (www.demos-usa.org/debt), an online information center containing key research, data points and analysis on trends in debt, bankruptcy and credit industry regulation in the United States.
New York, NY — Across the United States, families increasingly rely on credit cards to make up for stagnant wage growth and soaring costs. In order to cope, homeowners are depleting their home's equity to pay off a growing mountain of unsecured debt. This is a financial strategy fraught with serious consequences, according to A House of Cards: Refinancing The American Dream, a new report released today by Demos, a nonpartisan public policy organization based in New York.
New York, NY — Advocates for democracy had one strong reason to cheer on election night: higher voter turnout, especially among youth, reversed a decades-old trend of low electoral participation. Although they are still counting votes in almost every state, it is clear that about 120 million will have voted in the election — an increase of 15 million voters from 2000.
New York, N.Y. — Today Miles Rapoport, President of Demos and former Connecticut Secretary of State, released a statement saying that tens of thousands of voters would be disenfranchised if lawsuits challenging the legitimacy of the San Diego mayoral election succeed.
New York, NY — Widespread challenges to our electoral system surfaced on November 2nd, according to thousands of documented cases of system failure collected by troubleshooters and monitors at election call-centers across the country. Problems ranged from machine breakdowns, intimidation and long lines, with many focusing on widespread errors in the implementation of new provisional ballot requirements. Some of these include: