Not too long ago, the means of accessing and staying on the voter registration rolls was a highly controversial issue that often got lost in a partisan shuffle. However, after more than two million voters were unable to vote due to problems with their voter registration last year, policymakers and advocates on both sides are finally listening. Whether it is extravagant efforts to automate voter registration on the national level or revamping state voting systems to utilize citizens' access to the Internet, improving voter registration is a glimmering goal in 2009 that brings promise for restoring the democratic process in the years to come.
Despite reports of voter registration barriers, voter intimidation, and non-compliance with voting rights law in recent elections, it appears that state legislatures and Congress are not actively focusing on the real issues in election administration. Considering the current economic state, almost the only attention that election reform is getting is through messy, partisan fueled debates to require photo voter ID on the state level-a fight that, just last week, quietly brought Utah to the list of eight other states that go beyond the Help America Vote Act in voter ID requirements. In recent Congressional hearings regarding voter registration and other election issues experienced in 2008, a number of groups have expressed their concerns with the current voting system and its impact on voters.
Cross-Posted at Project Vote's Voting Matter's Blog Weekly Voting Rights News Update
by Erin Ferns
Election Day Registration has been the subject of election reform debates for decades and the year following one of the most historic presidential elections makes no exception. As lawmakers in at least 16 states hope to expand access to voter registration and effectively increase voter participation, skeptics of such reforms raise the fear of voter fraud. Today, 10 states successfully practice Same-Day Registration (either on Election Day or during an early voting period), with above-average turnout rates and no reported problems with voter fraud. For those states considering EDR, the decision to efficiently expand access to democracy should be clear.
As I've mentioned in a number of recent posts, I think that one of the most important projects for the progressive youth community in the 111th Congress is the passage of major voter registration reform legislation.
As I've written many times in the past, voter turnout is about access, not apathy. There are no numbers yet for 2008, but in 2004, 81.6% of all registered 18 - 29 year olds voted. The problem is not that young people register than forget or abstain from voting; the problem is that, due to a variety of factors, young people are registered in far fewer numbers than older portions of the electorate.
Today, the Millennial generation is in a position to push for broad policy changes - on energy and climate issues, education issues, and more - thanks in large part to the massive youth turnout and their key role in electing President Obama. Retaining that power beyond one congressional session or Presidential term will require a repeat performance at the polls year in and year out. Reforming our voter registration laws and removing so many of the barriers that keep young Americans registered at low rates is key to solidifying this newfound political power. So I'm super excited to report that a coalition seems to be forming to push forward Voter Registration Modernization legislation during the current Congress.
Final election results from the 2008 presidential election reveal that voter turnout was at the "highest level in 40 years." However, the biggest gain cannot just be seen in overall turnout. As Project Vote assessed in a recent report on 2008 voter demographics - now confirmed by other sources - the biggest gain was among minority and young voters. This success signifies a shift towards a more balanced electorate, and may herald election reforms to expand early voting and voter registration opportunities.
Recent analyses of the 2008 general election find that overall participation increased on November 4, with a significant surge in voter participation among historically underrepresented Americans. Yet, while some lawmakers have been inspired by the recent voter turnout to propose election reforms that expand access to voting rights, others continue to focus on creating additional barriers to voting.
(This is one of the key battlegrounds moving forward into future elections. Right now, it's a still-fragmented multi-front battle, but that only makes the need for national attention and federal action all the more apparent. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
Following an historic turnout in the 2008 election comes a flurry of election reform agendas from both sides of the battle over voting rights. Since November 4, some state lawmakers have seized on the success of early voting and Election Day Registration (EDR) as models for facilitating voter registration, while others appear to have been threatened by the heightened turnout and inspired to introduce restrictive voter ID and proof-of-citizenship bills for the 2009 legislative session.
Following what appears to be significant progress this year in closing participation gaps among historically underrepresented young and minority voters, we review Election Day stories in states with voter ID and EDR laws, and preview next year's legislative battle for election reform.
Reports and exits polls this entire political season have built a narrative of tremendous, even record-breaking voter participation, pushing us to believe that voter turnout in November will exceed all expectations.
Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold Indiana's voter ID law, the state-by-state battle to pass similar legislation has escalated with politicians seeking partisan gain furiously pushing laws that hinder access to the ballot. However, lawmakers seeking to dismantle barriers to electoral participation are just as committed to election integrity and protecting the voting rights of potentially millions of voters by calling out voter ID laws as "sheer political posturing." Meanwhile, positive measures to increase participation through Election Day Registration (EDR) are gaining ground in several states even as Iowa prepares to test-drive its new EDR law in the June 3 primary.
Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
In recent weeks, two Congressional hearings examined hot button voter suppression issues, voter fraud and voter caging, that have the potential to "taint the November election." These major voting rights issues have moved into broad public consciousness thanks to the 2007 exposure of the U.S. Attorney scandal in which nine federal prosecutors were fired for alleged lack of zeal in pursuing partisan accusations of widespread voter fraud. Now, two states with upcoming primary elections, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, have made local headlines for voter registration discrepancies, creating openings for confusing and discouraging voters and possibly even allowing those with voter suppression agendas to make an impact.
Barely noticed in the crush of attention paid to the Crawford v. Marion County Election Board case was coverage of what we think may be an emerging strategy to vilify Election Day Registration by using the same cries of voter fraud that typify arguments for voter ID laws.
Voter turnout in yesterday's New Hampshire primary surpassed previous totals. Without getting into how independents split, why polls were proven wrong or who out-maneuvered whom, we want to posit one factor (besides the warm weather) that boosted these numbers: peer pressure.
If you're monitoring techPresident's Facebook, Myspace and YouTube tallies, you know that web-based social networks are lighting up over the elections. If you follow the work of sites like Future Majority, you know that a major component to youth turn-out is peer-to-peer communication. If you attend chapters of Drinking Liberally, you know that people everywhere are talking politics and pulling each other to the polls.
Peer pressure works. That's what it's so scary in junior high school. And that's why it's so awesome in voter turnout (although sometimes scary again, depending on whom peers are pressured to vote for).
But as we all know, peer pressure works best when it's easy to give in to, and that's the real hero in the turnout story so far: Election Day Registration.
In both Iowa and New Hampshire, you can show up, register and vote...all at once!!! Inconceivable to folks like us in New York who have a labyrinthine calendar to determine when you need to register by. Efforts to pass EDR in places like Iowa (an initiative to which our friends at CREDO Action were integral) have made peer pressure easier...and that makes it work.
Say for example that somebody came to Drinking Liberally for the first time, and we told them they had to wait 3 weeks to have a drink. Doubtless, they would find other pursuits. But, when you make political participation as easy as buying a round, all the social networks, web 2.0 apps, and good old-fashion cajoling become that much more effective.
I feel bad for the unregistered New Yorkers who may feel the peer pressure to show up on February 5th, only to find at the polling station that they can't take the dive down the slippery slope of political engagement. At least, in their moment of dismay, they can still have a drink.
In 2007, Project Vote tracked 485 election bills in 24 states, some of them appearing to promise a consequential impact on voting rights. Bills ranged from good-Election Day Registration and felon voting rights restoration, to bad-voter ID, and everything in between. Few of the bills, however, made it beyond one chamber, making the 2007 legislative year an uneventful one. But it was a preview of what we can expect from the 2008 legislative sessions: an abundance of election bills expanding (or restricting) voter access in a presidential election year.
