Open Left - minorities

Report Shows 2008 Electorate is Most Diverse in Modern History

project vote — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:36:27 GMT

The 2008 election was the most diverse in modern history, with increases in participation among young people, minorities, unmarried individuals, and other historically underrepresented groups, according to a comprehensive new report by the voting rights group Project Vote. Whether gains by these groups will hold steady in 2010, however, remains to be seen.
Representational Bias in the 2008 Electorate-written by Project Vote researchers Douglas R. Hess and Jody Herman-is an in-depth study that analyzes data from the 2008 general election, and compares them to registration and turnout rates from every presidential election this decade. Historically the U.S. electorate has been disproportionately skewed towards White, older, and more affluent Americans, and while the study shows this is still true, the increasing diversity of the American population was more accurately reflected at the polls in 2008.

"The good news of the 2008 election was the surge in young voters, particularly young minority voters," says Hess. "The only age group that demonstrated an overall increase in participation rate was voters under the age of 30, and that was largely driven by young Black, Latino, and Asian voters."

The voting rate of Black women under 30 increased by 7 percentage points compared to 2004, surpassing the voting rate of White women in that age group. The participation rate for Black men under 30 surged by nearly 11 points over 2004, and surpassed that of White men in that age group. Registration and turnout rates also increased among young Latinos and Asians of both genders.

The report, which analyses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides detailed information on registration and voting populations according to race/ethnicity, income, education, age, gender and marital status, residential mobility, and disability status. It also provides registration and turnout rates for each state with comparative rankings. Maine, Minnesota, and the District of Columbia are near the top of the list, with 78-79 percent of their eligible populations registered. New York, Arkansas, Tennessee, Utah, and Hawaii make up the bottom of the list, all with more than a third of their eligible residents still unregistered.

The surge in minority voting is an encouraging sign, says Project Vote executive director Michael Slater, and clearly had a powerful impact on the 2008 election. However, the report finds that significant disparities in participation still exist.

"Voter registration is the key," says Slater. "Roughly 90% of registered Americans from all demographics cast a ballot in 2008. However, nearly a third of all eligible Americans-over 60 million people-are unregistered, and they are disproportionately people of color, lower-income Americans, and citizens under the age of 30."

The report finds that the disparities, while smaller in 2008, still meant that millions of eligible Americans were left out of the process. If the underrepresented populations were registered and had voted at the rates of those in the overrepresented groups, tens of millions of more citizens would have cast a ballot in 2008, including over 5 million people of color, 8 million low-income Americans, and more than 7 million young people.

"It is clear that traditionally underrepresented groups will vote if given access to voter registration and candidates that speak to their issues," says report co-author Jody Herman. "But it is also clear that we need registration reforms that increase access to registration and promote participation among these groups."

This will be particularly important in the coming year, Slater cautions, as the 2010 mid-term elections may erase the gains made in 2008. "Mid-term elections always see a drop in participation, and if the 2009 Virginia election is any indication, the 2010 drop may once again hit these groups hardest. The youth vote dropped by half in Virginia from 2008 to 2009, the 60-and-over vote doubled, and turnout by people of color dropped significantly."

"It is important that government officials and civic organizations renew their commitment to helping underrepresented populations register and vote in 2010," says Slater.

Project Vote Analysis Documents a More Diverse Electorate in 2008

project vote — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:24:57 GMT

The November 2008 election saw dramatic increases in participation by traditionally underrepresented groups, including Americans of color and young voters, according to a new research memorandum released by Project Vote yesterday.
In the memorandum, Douglas R. Hess, researcher and author of 2007 Project Vote report, Representational Bias in the 2006 Election, analyzes newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the definitive source of demographic data on registration and voting in America. The analysis examines participation in the 2008 general election by race/ethnicity, age, and income status, resulting in the first comprehensive picture of who voted in 2008 compared to 2004.

"The exciting story from 2008 is not that overall turnout increased, but that the electorate we heard from at the polls more closely resembled the true demographics and diversity of the American people," said Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote in a press release yesterday.

Historically, participation among African-Americans, Latinos, and young voters has lagged disproportionately behind other groups, but the Project Vote analysis suggests that this situation improved in 2008.

* African-American turnout surged from 60.3 percent in 2004 to 65.2 percent (an increase representing over 2 million voters) in 2008;
* Latino-American turnout increased by 2.5 percentage points from 47.3 to 49.7 percent (also an increase of over 2 million voters).
* Asian-American turnout increased about 3 percentage points from 44.5 to 47.8 percent (more than 600,000 additional voters).
* Turnout among young Americans between ages 18 and 30 increased by about 2 percentage points (an increase of 2.3 million voters).
* More than 5.4 million more votes were cast in 2008 than in 2004, and 4.9 million-or 91 percent of the additional votes-were from people of color.

The largest turnout rate gains were among young minority Americans. While White turnout in the under-30 age group was essentially unchanged between the two elections, turnout by African-Americans under 30 increased nearly 9 percentage points, which represents nearly 700,000 additional African-American voters under 30. Asian-American youth turnout also increased by an estimated 9.6 percentage points, and Latino youth turnout increased by 5.2 percentage points.

While these increases in participation are encouraging, Hess points out that there is still room for improvement. There still appears to be significant disparities in participation based on income, for example. While comparisons to 2004 based on income were not readily available for technical reasons, in 2008 there was a 20 point gap in the registration rate between Americans from households earning $25,000 or less per year and those earning over $100,000.

"Moreover," the memo says, "although there were gains among young voters, only half of voters under the age of 30 voted in 2008, leaving over 21 million citizens in that group alone sitting on the sidelines on Election Day."

Record Voter Turnout Indicates Closing of Electoral Gaps With the Help of Early Vote

project vote — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:39:20 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

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.
"Final figures from nearly every state and the District of Columbia showed that more than 131 million people voted, the most ever for a presidential election," according to the Associated Press on Monday. Nearly 62 percent of eligible citizens cast ballots in 2008, compared to the 60.1 percent that turned out in 2004.

"We seem to have restored the levels of civic engagement that we had in the 1950s and 1960s," said George Mason University political science professor, Michael McDonald. "But we didn't break those levels."

Southern California voters were among the many that have brought civic engagement back to the levels the region saw nearly three decades ago. Until recently, the inland region, consisting of Riverside and San Bernadino Counties, registered and voted at rates well behind the state average, according to the Press-Enterprise. Although nearly a third of region's 2.5 million eligible voters have reportedly never registered to vote, turnout rates in 2008 broke a quarter-century record in the area. Both counties report turnouts in the mid to upper 70s, one even exceeding California's projected turnout rate of 77.5 percent.

"Turnout is always higher in presidential elections," Riverside County Registrar of Voters Barbara Dunmore said. "We certainly hope that it will encourage voters to return to their polling places and exercise their right to vote."

While overall turnout records are being set or broken by the 2008 election, advocates are taking closer examinations of turnout among certain sections of the electorate, particularly among the historically underrepresented.

Black voter turnout in particular "was at a historic high," according to a new analysis of black voter turnout in 2008 by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. According to the report, "the Census Bureau's November 2006 Current Population Survey reported that there were 24.81 million eligible African American adults, and with 16.6 million black votes cast, 2008 black turnout would be 66.8 percent - smashing the previous record of 58.5 percent in 1964; the post-Voting Rights Act turnout high was 57.6 percent in 1968."
Florida Today, a Brevard County publication, also analyzed voter data, attributing the increase in Democratic turnout to "a surge in minority voters. The number of minorities who cast ballots this year was up 47 percent from 2004. The increase for white voters was 4 percent."

The paper also cited Project Vote's recent analysis of voter turnout, which "found the number of minority voters was up significantly in the state -- and nationwide."

"I think there was definitely an attempt to participate in the process in a way they haven't been able to before," said chairman of Brevard Republican Party, John Anderson, who credits black churches and civil rights groups for playing a "pivotal role in increasing black turnout."

This surge in black turnout, according to the Associated Press, "helped" Obama win as it gave black voters "the opportunity to elect the first black president."

Obama's campaign also mobilized voters to cast ballots early, AP reports, perhaps contributing to the heightened interest in this method of voting. Early voting, "either by mail or designated sites," accounted for more than 31 percent votes on Election Day. In 2004, just 22 percent of votes were cast early.

Early voting is among the most talked about election reforms following the election. Since November, at least six states have pre-filed early voting bills for the 2009-2010 legislative sessions. Similarly, voter registration reforms, such as Election Day Registration (EDR), are gaining interest among advocates and lawmakers with at least two states considering EDR for 2009 so far and one state putting EDR to the test in the 2008 election.

Calling the election a "true test" of the state's 2007 EDR law, Secretary of State Michael Mauro reported voter turnout increased threepercent in Iowa with nearly 48,000 Iowans showing up on Election Day to both register to vote and cast a ballot, according to a Radio Iowa report.

Despite unfounded but common fears of EDR being particularly susceptible to voter fraud, Mauro reported that there were no "real cases" of voter fraud and that the state was successful in allowing "many more people to participate in the process" while keeping the voting system "safe and secure."

Iowa is among nine states that practices EDR, not including Ohio which permitted voters to register and vote during the early voting period this year. Though Iowa only passed its law last year, other states have practiced EDR since the 1970s, showing turnout rates increase 10-12 percent above the national average, according to public policy group, Demos.

Quick Links:
Jodie Herman and Lorraine Minnite. "The Demographics of Voters in America's 2008 General Election: A Preliminary Assessment." Project Vote. Nov. 18, 2008.

In Other News:

Bill eliminates same-day register, vote - Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS - Setting up a possible showdown with Gov. Ted Strickland, the Ohio House passed a bill Tuesday that eliminates the "golden week"- a period when voters could register and vote by absentee ballot on the same day.

OPINION: Toward A Better Registration System: Eliminating A Mountain Of Paperwork Is A Top Priority For Gathering Of Election Administrators - National Journal
Imagine an election in which registration is automatic, voters cast their ballots online, and more than half the votes are in before Election Day.

Exit Poll Analysis Suggests Obama Victory Due to Surge in Youth and Minority Voting

project vote — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:43:42 GMT

The United States saw dramatic increases in voting from traditionally underrepresented groups, including minorities and young voters, according to a new analysis released this week by Project Vote. If borne out by systematic analysis of the voter rolls, this change in the electorate is evidence of the power of successful voter registration drives and an indication of the strong inclination of voters to participate in the process when candidates address their issues.
Countering the conventional wisdom that the voting population on November 4 did not change as dramatically as predicted, the analysis, The Demographics of Voters in America's 2008 General Election: A Preliminary Assessment, demonstrates that African-Americans, Latinos, and young voters cast millions more ballots in 2008 than in 2004.

"The analysis estimated that about 5.8 million more minorities voted in this year's presidential election than in 2004, while nearly 1.2 million fewer whites went to the polls," wrote Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers. "The figures appear to reflect the success of Project Vote and other liberal voter registration groups in registering millions of young, poor, elderly and minority Americans to vote in recent election cycles."

According to the analysis, African-Americans cast nearly three million more ballots nationwide in 2008 than in 2004-an increase of 21 percent. The total votes cast by Latinos went up by 16 percent-more than 1.5 million-and young Americans aged 18-29 cast 1.8 million more votes, a nine percent increase. That the overall totals did not increase significantly compared to 2004 was in part due to a decrease in voting by white voters.

In addition to presenting an analysis of ballots cast from the United States as a whole, the memo by Project Vote consultant and Ph.D. candidate Jody Herman and Barnard College political science professor Lorraine Minnite examines several key states in detail, including Colorado, Florida, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The Project Vote data is preliminary, and does not speak to "turnout," which is traditionally a measure of the percentage of the voting-eligible population that shows up to vote. Project Vote expects to release a full report on turnout in the 2008 election in 2009 when government survey data on the voting-eligible population comes available. Yet, this preliminary analysis indicates that a significant shift occurred this year.

"There is no doubt that this surge in voting by Americans of color and young people had a powerful impact on the outcome of the election," said Michael Slater, executive director of Project Vote, in a press release issued today.

"Separate opinion polls and election results themselves indicate that an overwhelming majority of African-Americans and Latinos backed Obama," according to Gordon.

"Thus, the appearance of an African-American presidential candidate with a sympathetic message may have prompted the nation's minorities to vote at levels approaching white voters -- if final state vote counts do not upend Project Vote's figures," wrote AlterNet's Steve Rosenfeld last week. "Its findings also suggest the U.S. electorate is not an inflexible assembly of voting constituencies, but has segments that are mobilized -- or demobilized -- depending on the year, candidate and message,"

In an email exchange with Rosenfeld, Frank Sharry, executive director of pro-immigration reform group, America's Voice, said "neither the turnout increase among Latinos -- nor the swing in support to Democrats -- were surprising."

"Telling people you don't like them and don't want them is not a winning electoral strategy," wrote Sharry. "But that is what the Republican Party has been saying to immigrants, Latino immigrants in particular, for the past four years. No surprise, then, that record numbers of Latinos turned out in 2008 and that the swing away from Republicans to Democrats among Latino immigrants in particular was dramatic."

After 2008 Election, Some States Want to Make Voting Easier; Others Determined to Make it Harder

project vote — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:32:40 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

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.
Election Day Registration

In North Carolina, lawmakers report being "proud" of the implementation of the state's 2007 Same Day Registration law, which permits early voters to register and vote at established "One-Stop" voting sites, according to the Raleigh News and Observer. In the 2008 primary and presidential elections, the law seemed to boost voter registration while cutting the use of provisional ballots by more than half, compared to figures from the 2004 election. On average, EDR states tend to outperform non-EDR states in election outcome by a minimum of 10 percentage points, according to public policy group, Demos.

"State Rep. Paul Luebke said he expects other states to model North Carolina's early voting system," according to the report. "The only change he would suggest for the next elections would be to standardize the hours, encouraging local boards of elections to stay open longer in early voting."

Despite the smooth success of Same Day Registration at early voting sites in North Carolina and other states,Republican lawmakers in Ohio are pushing to end the state's new mandate to allow voters to register during the early voting period.

State Republicans recently announced that they would file legislation to move the voter registration deadline to 65 days before Election Day, according to an Associated Press report. They hope to pass the bill before the 2008 session ends "and a new, Democratic-controlled House takes over in January."

However, election law expert Dan Tokaji said the bill will likely run into opposition as "federal law clearly prohibits states from having registration deadlines earlier than 30 days before an election."

Before the Nov. 4 election, the "Republican Party sued Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to stop the same-day window...but state and federal courts upheld it."

Brunner has planned an election summit in December to review the elections process and will likely not adhere to any changes before the new legislature takes over, according to the AP report.

Meanwhile, states like West Virginia are considering implementing Election Day Registration, which currently exists in about eight other states in its traditional form whereby eligible citizens may show up at their polling place on Election Day, register to vote and cast a ballot. First implemented in Maine in 1973, EDR is also practiced in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire and Wyoming. Other states, like North Carolina, Ohio and Connecticut permit variations of the option to register and vote at the same time, either during an early voting period, or-in the case of Connecticut-on a special ballot that only allows them to vote for the president.

"I lost my card, and I didn't think I could do it too close to the time," said one West Virginia voter and supporter of an EDR law, according to Parksburg, W. Va. News station, WTAP. "So, if it was that way, I could have voted."

However, Woods County clerk, Jamie Six, who "studied the idea for the state clerk's association" is against the implementation of EDR.

"The poll workers have a long and very busy day already," Six said. "And to add this to their plate to take care of on election day, we don't feel it would be fair."

While EDR in the state is unlikely, Six says it is possible to allow voters to register during the early voting period. "A committee of the West Virginia Legislature is to hear from Six on Monday," according to WTAP.

In the 2008 session, about 19 states introduced EDR legislation. Bills are pending in four states: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. None of these bills have moved since this summer.

At least two states, Texas and Montana, which currently practices EDR, have pre-filed several bills relating to EDR for the 2009 session.

Voter ID

While some states were facilitating voter registration and voting this year, Indiana - home of the country's strictest voter ID law - reportedly turned some of its young voters away without casting a regular ballot, and even encouraged poll workers in other states to mandate voter ID when no such law existed in the first place.

Despite being properly registered and equipped with out-of-state and student ID, the young voters were only allowed to vote provisionally on Nov. 4, leaving some discouraged and others in tears, according to a letter to the Indianapolis Star by Leon Riley, an election official at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse precinct.

"The Indiana voter ID law amounted to disenfranchisement for a number of young, well-informed voters, as well as some voters who have various limitations of resources, transportation and problem-solving ingenuity. Is this what we want for some of our brightest and best, or for some who need help along the way? In fairness, this unnecessary barrier must be abolished," wrote Riley.

The day before the election, an emergency motion was filed to stop enforcement of the voter ID law based on constitutional violations. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago denied the motion a week later without citing any reasons why, according to the Indiana Lawyer.

With the controversy over the U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of Indiana's voter ID law, and a flurry of voter registration fraud allegations in the weeks before the election, poll workers in some states appeared confused over their own states' laws. Voters in Mecklenburg County, Virgina, for example, complained that poll workers illegally asked them to provide proof of identification, including photo ID, according to the Smith Hill Enterprise. There were also reports of misleading signs outside of polling places that indicated photo ID was required.

The misinformation amounted to a misinterpretation of the Help America Vote Act, which required voters who registered by mail after 2003 to provide proof of ID.

"The voter being asked to present a photo ID is not the preferred language to use," said Jessica Lane of the State Board of Elections. The preferred language, she said, is to ask for "a form of ID."

Whatever the intention, voters were set back after waiting hours in long lines, leaving to get their IDs, or possibly, not return at all, according to the Enterprise.

"I am registered with neither party. I am a devout independent with libertarian leanings, but I believe in the constitution and the fact that everyone needs to get out and vote," wrote one concerned voter. "Was anyone denied the right to vote? If they did not have a photo ID and saw the sign, did they say 'Oops. I guess I can't vote' and leave?".

For voter ID advocates, preventing the extremely rare crime of individual voter fraud is worth the risk of compromising a voter's right to cast a ballot. However, preventing many eligible voters from casting a ballot just to prevent a rare crime hardly seems on par with democracy. A four year investigation by the federal government found only 24 instances of voter fraud out of more than 214 million votes cast. Several studies have found that a number of already under-represented Americans - primarily young, elderly, minority and poor - would have a difficult time meeting the requirements. These studies include a Brennan Center survey that found 21 million Americans were without the required identification; a University of Washington study that found about a quarter of Indiana's young, African-American and low income voting-age populations lack the necessary ID; and a University of Georgia study found the state's Latino and Black voters were twice as likely not to posses required ID compared to White voters.

Yet despite the lack of evidence of voter fraud, and a well known, recent history of young and elderly voters missing out on the democratic process in Indiana (including Indiana nuns and Notre Dame University students who were turned away in the 2008 primaries) lawmakers in states like Oklahoma and Texas are hoping to make voter ID a reality in 2009.

While acknowledging that Oklahoma Speaker of the House Chris Benge "and the others pushing for a voter ID system have a certain level of common sense on their side (one idea is to offer free ID with their plan), Wayne Greene of the Tulsa World dismisses the argument that if people are required to show photo ID to cash a check, they should be required to show ID when they vote. Greene points out that there is plenty of evidence of people attempting to cash fraudulent checks, but no evidence of people attempting to cast fraudulent votes in Oklahoma.

"Benge told me he didn't have any examples of fraudulent voting to justify what sounds like a pretty expensive free ID system," Greene says. The state, which introduced and failed seven voter ID bills this year, will convene for the 2009-2010 session next February.

Immediately after Election Day, lawmakers in Texas - where there was a serious voter ID battle during the 2007 session - pre-filed a few bills requiring voter ID as well as proof-of-citizenship at registration.
Supporters of voter ID hope to have it in effect by the next gubernatorial election, according to local publication, Athens Daily Review.

In total this year, 25 states introduced voter ID bills, and bills are still pending in four states: Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Track these and other election-related bills by visiting www.ElectionLegislation.org.

After this presidential election's phenomenal turnout that showed the American electorate is finally closer to representing all of its citizens, lawmakers should recognize that voters take this fundamental right seriously. The passage of laws that help facilitate that right are far more conducive to a fair and healthy democracy than the passage of those that prevent some citizens from voting at all.

Quick Links:
www.ElectionLegislation.org

In Other News:

More minorities voted this year, but white turnout dropped - McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's 8.5 million-vote margin over John McCain was fueled by a more than 20 percent surge in minority voting, a new analysis of exit polling data suggests.

Minnesota group asks feds to investigate problems with state's voter rolls - Associated Press
ST. PAUL (AP) - A group opposed to Minnesota's same-day voter registration law has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate problems it suspects with the state's voter rolls.

Woman seeks limits on mentally disabled voters - Associated Press
GRINNELL - A Deep River woman wants to change a[n Iowa] state law to require that mentally disabled voters be supervised when they cast a ballot.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD

Changing the Game: Voter Registration Drives Reshape the American Electorate

project vote — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:50:07 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Monday marked the last day to register to vote before November's presidential election in many states and the conclusion to one of the nation's largest nonpartisan voter registration drives in history. Helping more than 1.3 million of the America's underrepresented young, low-income and minority citizens register to vote, Project Vote and its voter registration drive partner, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), have played a leading role this election cycle in changing the face of the electorate to represent all Americans.
In 2006, according to Project Vote study, "Representational Bias in the 2006 Electorate," the proportion of the U.S. population that was registered to vote was biased toward Whites and older, affluent and educated voters. Latino and Black citizens were less likely to be on the voting rolls, registering 17 and 10 percentage points, respectively, behind Whites. Lower income citizens, or those earning less than $25K per year, registered 21 percentage points (60%) behind those earning $100K per year or more (81%). And in keeping with their long history of lagging voter registration and participation rates, voters under the age of 30 registered to vote at a fraction (51%) of the rate of those ages 30-64 (70%). The most stunning findings in the report were that if eligible minorities actually voted at the same rates as Whites, an extra 7.5 million votes would have been cast in 2006.

News articles from every corner of the country are reporting increased registration rates, pointing to a potentially "game-changing" reshaping of the electorate with voters feeling newly empowered to demand that elected officials address their issues. Election officials are predicting "it's going to be a tsunami of voters" on Election Day.

"In the past year, the rolls have expanded by about 4 million voters in a dozen key states," according to the Washington Post Monday. More than half of the 1.3 million that Project Vote helped register were in key states Ohio, Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to Richard Wolf of USA Today, 60 percent of which "are under 30 and about two-thirds are minorities." A driving motivation behind this rise in registrations, according to ACORN board member Carmen Arias, is the "faltering economy."

"In 2004, we were met with apathy," Arias said in a press briefing Tuesday. "We had to convince people to register to vote. This year, we were met with excitement: people are excited to have an opportunity to have a say in solving the foreclosure crisis, and the health care crisis. They're eager to have politicians listen to them."

Elected officials listen to those who vote, and America's imbalanced electorate has effectively silenced millions of low-income citizens.

"We think it's important that the voices in our community get heard," said interim chief organizer of ACORN, Bertha Lewis. "This isn't just about going into the voting booth, but it's actually about strengthening democracy and instilling an ongoing commitment to effect real change."

Reports from Colorado, Michigan, and Florida all note increased registration rates and spikes in last minute registrations. On Monday, a Denver elections office took 100 people per hour who poured in to register or apply for mail ballots before the deadline, according to Myuang Oak Kim of the Rocky Mountain News. Project Vote and ACORN's voter registration effort helped more than 70,000 Colorado voters get on the rolls.

In Michigan, 95 percent of eligible voters are registered, according to the Associated Press. Local clerks, who processed 217,000 applications from Project Vote, "are gearing up for what's expected to be a heavy turnout on Election Day," which may exceed the 68 percent that turned out in 2004. To accommodate the influx, secretary of state spokeswoman Kelly Chesney said her office has recommended increasing the number of voting stations to avoid long lines as well as develop separate lines for those who "are having issues with the state's relatively new voter ID requirements."

In Florida, 430,000 "younger, more ethnically diverse and more Democratic" voters joined the voter rolls since January, according to Michael Bender of the Palm Beach Post Saturday. Project Vote and ACORN's efforts helped register152,000 of these voters.

"Everyone wants to be involved this year; they want to be a part of history," says Verna Hunter, a retired Fort Pierce, Fla. woman and long time local voter registration drive volunteer. "It's just a really inspirational time."

"Our belief, fundamentally, is that by expanding the electorate, by changing its profile, we will get candidates who will start to appeal to those new voters," said Project Vote Executive Director Michael Slater in Tuesday's press briefing. "The idea isn't to assist, whether overtly or covertly, the election of any single candidate, but to force candidates to take into account the interests of Americans who have not historically participated in as high rates as others and to start pursuing policies and programs that are more responsive to their needs."

The idea of new voters demanding different policies and programs is threatening to some entrenched powers, and many partisan attacks on voter participation programs and disinformation campaigns have already been launched with just less than four weeks to go until Election Day.

Project Vote will be running a voter education and mobilization canvass in the run-up to Election Day to ensure that all of our registrants go out to the polls. In addition we are running an aggressive Election Administration program to fight partisan attempts to suppress the vote, and ensure that all eligible voters can cast a ballot and that those ballots will be counted. Please follow this link so that you can help support Project Vote's Get Out The Vote and Election Administration Program.

Quick Links:
Hess, Douglass R. "Representational Bias in the 2006 Electorate." Project Vote. Sept. 2007.

In Other News:

States' Actions to Block Voters Appear Illegal- New York Times
Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times.

Disabled vet says Tucson officials kept him from voting - Associated Press
A disabled veteran says the city of Tucson prevented him from exercising his right to vote last year.

20 percent of Ohio's provisional ballots rejected - Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- Roughly 20 percent of provisional ballots cast in the March primary election in Ohio were rejected by election officials, a newspaper review found.

Idaho voter registration for students questioned - Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho - Idaho college students face some of the toughest restrictions in the nation when trying to register to vote at their college addresses, according to a national study.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Electoral Dirty Tricks Coming Soon To An In-Box Near You

project vote — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:28:57 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Election experts have already worried that the surge of newly registered voters may cause unintentional chaos through long lines and ballot shortages on Election Day. Now there is increased concern that intentional chaos may be caused by partisan forces using something that millions of Americans access every day - the Internet. Although deceiving and disenfranchising voters through political dirty tricks is a staple partisan strategy to influence election results, the Internet may be making it easier and more effective than ever to spread misinformation, according to CNN reporter, Stephanie Busari.
"We're seeing all sorts of ways in which these people can put out the message to first-time voters and those who are unsure of their voting rights. They are replacing the tactics we saw in previous elections cycles," says Lillie Coney of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in the CNN report.

In the recent past low-income and minority voters have been targeted by dirty tricks, including telephone calls, direct mail and leafleting. For example, during the 2004 and 2006 elections, voters were falsely informed that they could not vote if they were immigrants, had parking violations, "or even outstanding child support payments," Busari wrote.

In response, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act was introduced into the United States Senate in October 2007. Currently pending, S. 453 "makes it a federal crime to 'knowingly provide false information with the intent to disenfranchise another person in a federal election."

As Busari reports, however, "tricksters have moved online because of the low probability of being caught, and also because anti-spam laws and 'no call' lists exempt political messages." Utilizing existing Internet scams, tricksters reach voters through phishing (fraudulent emails that direct recipients to convincingly fake Web sites in order to collect personal information), pharming (redirecting traffic from one Web site to another), typo squatting (buying rights to a misspelled versions of a candidate's Internet address and using them to "steal and potentially misinform supporters") and web-based robocalls.

"By early November, we're expecting spam emails to be sent giving the wrong location for a polling station, or, incorrect details about who has the right to vote...There's even a Web site that's offering to register voters for $9.95. Of course, it doesn't cost anything to vote," Coney said in the report. The Federal Trade Commission has recently warned people to be cautious of scammers who "may attempt to finagle personal information, including Social Security Number or even credit card information from people signing up to register," according to Penn. publication, the Morning Call. Legitimate voter registration drives, of course, will never ask for personal financial information.

"In a tight race where every voter counts, the implications are serious," Busari wrote.

But the right to full, unimpeded access to the democratic process is not solely compromised by dirty tricks that skirt the law. In many states, unfortunately, we are currently seeing attempts to suppress voters written into the election laws themselves.

Investigations have shown that voter fraud is extremely rare. Yet, citing a need to prevent illegal voting by unnaturalized immigrants, 18 states have introduced bills that would require documented proof of citizenship when registering to vote. This measure has already resulted in the rejection of approximately 40,000 registrations in Arizona, the only state to enact such a law, according to a recent News21 feature by Renee Feltz and Stokely Baksh.

Supporters of the law, who are also members of the state Republican Party, note that they did not provide any evidence of voter fraud in the state, but considered the measure a "preemptive strike," the report said. Critics say it is a solution in search of a problem, and one that is not worth the risk of disenfranchising tens of thousands of legitimate voters.

In the News21 report, Justin Levitt of the Brennan Center for Justice explains. "If you're a non-citizen and you register or vote... there's a record that connects you to that registration and voting. And it can be - and has been - investigated" as well as prosecuted."

"And if you're convicted - which is a relatively straightforward thing if you're a non-citizen and you've actually registered and voted - you can be put in jail for five years for each count. You can be fined up to 10,000 dollars, and probably most serious, you can be deported," he said. "And in return, you get at most one incremental vote. Now for the vast majority of people...those odds just don't make sense."

The report examines how the proof-of-citizenship requirement has affected not only naturalized Latino immigrants, but even long-time American citizens who do not have access to citizenship documents, which is three percent of the U.S. population, according to the Brennan Center. Furthermore, these requirements hinder efforts to engage voters, such as voter registration drives, because voters "often don't have their proof of citizenship" at traditional registration drive sites like shopping malls.

Unfortunately, like others in recent memory, it looks like this Election Day may be plagued by issues-from administrative shortcomings to illegal scams to poorly crafted election laws - that keep voters off the rolls and away from the polls, and influence the outcome of the election. It is incumbent upon those crafting election administration policies to ensure that administrative barriers to participation are lowered so that as many eligible voters as possible are able to cast ballots.

Quick Links:
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act

In Other News:

A win for state veterans and voting - The Stamford Advocate (Conn.)
State officials' well-founded objections to new federal rules restricting voter registration in veterans' facilities have brought results, at least in Connecticut.

Penalties rejected for some at polls: GOP said new measures would fight voter fraud - Associated Press
Madison, Wis. - State elections officials rejected a Republican request Wednesday to make would-be voters who fail identification checks ineligible or force them to cast provisional ballots.

Felons get better chance to vote - Associated Press
Tallahassee, Fla. - Gov. Charlie Crist made it easier for felons to vote Wednesday, but advocates questioned why he waited so long.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

How Voter ID Laws Unfairly Burden Voters And Skew The Electorate

project vote — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:07:20 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

With little more than two months left before Election Day, prospective voters are rushing to get registered. And like the way that slugs thrive in moist weather, voter suppression attacks spring up around large-scale voter registration drives. Partisan attempts to shape the electorate, in effect choosing the voters rather than voters choosing their own representatives, seek to impose barriers to voter participation by eligible citizens rather than creating a system that works to facilitate the foundational right of American democracy. Voter ID laws are a particularly favorite weapon in the arsenal of partisans seeking to choose their own voters to the exclusion of other eligible citizens. More than 25 states introduced voter ID bills this year and at least nine have such laws in place for this November's election despite scant evidence of voter impersonation, the ill it is supposed to stop.
The reality of the kind of detrimental election reforms typified by Voter ID laws is that they place the burden for ensuring free and fair elections squarely upon the voter, rather than upon the government, despite the fact that the government controls every aspect of the electoral process, from voter registration to counting the ballots. In effect, these laws concentrate on the possible wrong-doing of individual voters to the exclusion of the myriad barriers that prevent significant numbers of voters from underrepresented population groups from participation in the electoral process, thus helping to skew the electorate toward being older, whiter, and more affluent than America's citizenry as a whole. Laws that concentrate on the voter rather than the system almost without exception narrow the ability of voters to exercise their democratic right to vote, which falls especially hard upon already disadvantaged Americans, as illustrated by a concerned Arizona citizen in a local publication as well as a Wisconsin editorial this week.

"I believe people heard that no one should vote who is not a citizens," said Kathryn Kozak, referring to Arizona's voter ID requirement that exceeds federal mandates in a letter to the Arizona Daily Sun on Sunday. "They didn't necessarily think about what this would mean for those people who were citizens."

Kozak was shocked to learn that her sample ballot would no longer suffice as proof of identity when casting a ballot in the state's Sept. 2 primary election. Like more than 21 million Americans, she does not have valid proof of identity: "My problem is that I use my middle name on my driver's license, but my legal name includes my first name. The election office says I should still be able to vote, but you never know what is going to happen at the polls.

"This voter ID law is making it difficult for me and others in my situation to vote," she wrote.

As Kozak pointed out, many voters believe voter ID laws are a valid way of preventing illegal voting and have not considered the impact of such "preventive" measures on eligible citizens. Unsympathetic to her challenge of the state's law that exceeds federal mandate, a few readers of her story in the Arizona Daily Sun commented that anyone who wants to vote would go through the trouble of obtaining valid ID. However, cost, time and high mobility rates make obtaining valid ID a troublesome feat for millions of Americans who already face obstacles to participation in the electoral process.

Frankly, it is not as if the United States has enviable voter participation rates. In our 2007 report, Representational Bias in the 2006 Electorate, a majority (52%) of eligible Americans did not vote. Overrepresented in this segment of the electorate were young people, minorities and low income Americans - all highly mobile communities who are profoundly affected by voter ID requirements. And while people point to the convenient excuse of "voter apathy" to explain non-participation, the reality is that our study showed that Americans, once registered, turn out at a rate of a 71 percent.

That type of turnout would be reduced in states that impose voter ID requirements since more than 21 million U.S. citizens do not have current, valid photographic proof of ID, according to a poll by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. "Valid" ID in most cases must reflect the current address as listed in the voter's registration records. In 2006, more than four in 10 Americans reported having lived at their current address for less than five years.

Furthermore, a 2006 study commissioned by the Election Assistance Commission found a 2.9% decrease in turnout overall in states that require photo ID and a 2.7% decrease in states that required documentary ID compared to states that require voters to give their names, according to a 2007 Project Vote report.

Ultimately, voter ID laws inhibit voters who already face barriers such as high mobility rates that require them to update voter registration and identification information. In order to help facilitate the voting rights of these voters and maintain the integrity of elections by prohibiting illegal voting, the responsibility needs to not only be put on the voter who must show up and vote, but also on the design of the election system as a whole.

The Wisconsin publication, La Crosse Tribune makes just this point in a recent editorial cautioning against the adoption of voter ID laws in the wake of stories about voter registration workers getting caught defrauding their employer and the state by attempting to get paid for submitting false voter registration forms. Indeed, the editors applauded the state's new voter registration system, touting it as a more efficient method of keeping ineligible voters off the rolls.

"While some people argue that the case underscores the need for a photo ID requirement before one is allowed to vote, that would be an over-reaction that could end up disenfranchising older and low-income voters who lack such identification."

The editorial continues: "It would make more sense to use the new federally mandated voter registration systems [Help America Vote Act-required voter list maintenance procedures is what they mean. ~~ed] to screen for nonqualified voters~~ rather than risk disenfranchising large numbers of people with a photo ID program."

In a democracy with more than 200 million eligible citizens, the burden of ensuring free and fair elections cannot be born solely by the individual voter. The government, which controls all aspects of elections and therefore the means by which Americans exercise their foundational democratic right, must also work to create an electoral system that lowers barriers to participation and ensures the efficient implementation of procedures that allow all eligible citizens to register, cast a ballot, and have that ballot counted.

Quick Links:
Reports
"Maintaining Current and Accurate Voter Lists." Project Vote. Dec. 2006.
"Restrictive Voter Identification Requirements." Project Vote. Mar. 2007.
Web Page
2008 Voter ID Bills. ElectionLegislation.org.

In Other News:

Voting campaign helps Homestead seniors register - Miami Herald
As Rennatta Delgado, manager of Homeowner Services for Centro Campesino Farmworker Center in Florida City says, ``although seniors are often a forgotten community, when it comes to the 2008 elections, their important voices will be heard at the polls.''

Groups to register homeless to vote - Montgomery Advertiser (Ala.)
John Cook Thomas would like to cast his vote in the November election for Barack Obama.

Voter Registration Key to Obama's Efforts to Put Virginia in Play - Washington Post
RICHMOND -- Virginia has added nearly a quarter-million registered voters since the 2004 elections, and about half of that growth came from increasingly Democratic Northern Virginia.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Record Youth And Minority Turnout Threatened By Persistent Election Barriers

project vote — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:20:17 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

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.

Maybe.
The dirty secret of elections in America is that getting on the rolls, casting a ballot, and having that ballot counted is a complicated system adjudicated and carried out by more than 3,000 counties and towns and regulated by a complex mix of state and federal laws. In order for the expected record-shattering turnout to occur in November, all aspects of the system, from registration procedures to polling place systems to ballot counting procedures all need to work properly. However, those with an interest in suppressing turnout may disrupt the process at any one of those points. The biggest impact comes by preventing people from making it onto the voting rolls in the first place since no one can cast a ballot without being registered.

Unsurprisingly, politicians with partisan interests at heart are pushing states to raise barriers to the democratic process by enforcing laws that restrict voter registration drives and violate the Voting Rights Act. These election-related policies have disproportionately negative impact on young people and minorities - two groups that have historically suffered underrepresentation in the electorate. However, in an encouraging move aimed at lowering these kinds of barriers, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would help enfranchise all voters on Election Day.

Restrictions on Voter Registration Drives
During presidential election years, efforts to register more citizens increase dramatically. However, several states impose various restrictions on voter registration drives, which in turn has a disproportionate impact upon youth and people with disabilities - two communities that commonly register to vote through such drives, according to Ben Adler of the Politico.

The swing state of New Mexico is under the most scrutiny for their drive policy and has recently been sued for unconstitutionally hindering the right to collect voter registrations under a 2005 election reform law.

"The activists contend that because the law creates criminal penalties for failing to meet its requirements - which even supporters acknowledge are stringent - it discourages groups from collecting registrations," Adler wrote. New Mexico's excessively short 48 hour time frame to turn in a completed application and subsequent misdemeanor charge if the collector is late has reportedly stopped students who "'simply want to get out on campus and register their friends to vote.'" The Federal government recognizes the challenges imposed by short time lines: Under the National Voter Registration Act, state agencies are provided 10 days to turn in new applications.

Violations of the Voting Rights Act
Other voting rights issues that have recently been battled involve violations of the Voting Rights Act.
The U.S. Justice Department recently announced an agreement to protect Latino voters in New Jersey after a complaint was filed involving discrimination in the voting process. Puerto Rican voters in the Penns Grove borough had complained they were subject to racial comments and hostility as well as disproportionately asked for voter ID and turned away at the polls. It was the third lawsuit of this nature this year. The suit also alleged that Spanish-speaking voters were not provided Spanish-language election materials or enough aid from bilingual poll workers, also requirements of the Act. The agreement must still be approved by the court, the Justice Department press release said.

"The right to vote is a fundamental guarantee for all American citizens," said U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Christopher Christie. "The Division is committed to vigorously enforcing federal civil rights laws during the important election year and commends the county and borough for promptly and constructively resolving the matter."

Asian voters in Massachusetts were not as successful in getting the state to provide fully sufficient bilingual ballots, according to a column by Adrian Walker of the Boston Globe. Advocates recently attempted to meet with Secretary of State William Galvin to gain his support for a proposed law requiring ballots be translated into Chinese and Vietnamese. The bill passed the Boston City Council earlier this year, but still requires legislative approval in order to ensure elderly Asian residents with limited English skills are not denied the right to vote in November.

"Voting is as American as apple pie," said Boston City Councilor Sam Yoon. "This is something everyone should want to protect."

However, Galvin - who the legislature looks to when considering election law - denied the group, as he has for the last year, according to Walker.

Despite swelling interest and rising registration rates among youth and minorities, there are significant and persistent barriers to their increased participation. The identification of these barriers should serve as a wake-up call in each state, pushing them to take steps to address the barriers and equip themselves to handle the influx of new voters this coming Election Day.

Voter Registration Surge and Election Day Chaos
An example of this swelling interest can be seen in one county in Florida where minority voters are beginning to balance their share of the electorate. This year alone in Lee County, Florida, black and Latino voters have increased by as much as 22 percent - more than double the increase among white voters, according to local publication, Fort Meyers News-Press.

"The increase in minority voter registration gives voice to people who haven't always been represented at the table," the News-Press editorialized. "Whether it's the presence of a nontraditional candidate, the pressing economic conditions, or the war in Iraq, anything that inspires citizens to participate in the political process is beneficial."

The unprecedented surge of voters expected to turn out in November could pose a major challenge for states, according to Stateline.org. The online news site, run by the Pew Research Center, raised concerns about poor ballot design and even last minute voter registration drives that could swamp understaffed offices, making it more difficult for voters to get on the rolls, let alone cast a ballot.

"People know it's going to be a historically high turnout. Whether they can do anything about it is another question," said Dan Seligson of electionline.org, a Pew Center on the States project that provides analysis on election reform.

Smart Election Reform
While other states scramble to figure out how to accommodate the influx of voters and advocates ensure voting rights are protected, one state is pushing one of the most effective measures to expand access to democracy for all American citizens - Election Day Registration. On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would allow voters to register and vote on Election Day. The bill, SB 2807 is currently in the House Ways and Means committee. If passed, Massachusetts would join the ranks of eight other EDR states, which have average turnout rates that exceed non-EDR states by as much as 12 percent. Three other states are considering EDR bills: New Jersey, New York and Ohio. To view these bills, visit www.ElectionLegislation.org.

Quick Links:
Contacts:
Mass. Committee on House Ways and Means
State House #237
Boston, MA 02133
Phone:617/722-2380
Mass. Secretary of State William Galvin
Citizen Information Service
One Ashburton Place, Room 1611
Boston, MA 02108-1512
Tel: (617) 727-7030
Toll Free: 1-800-392-6090
TTY: (617) 878-3889
Fax: (617) 742-4528
E-mail: cis@sec.state.ma.us
Reports:
"A Summary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965." Project Vote.
"Voters Win with Election Day Registration: Election Day Registration Was Successful in Several States During the 2006 Mid-term Elections." Demos. 19 November 2008.

In Other News:

Voter-rights group cries foul in state: La. defends process for dropping names - The Times - Picayune [La.]
BATON ROUGE -- A national voting rights organization says Louisiana election officials are violating federal law by dropping voters who have registered in other states. But state officials said Friday they are in compliance with all federal and state voting laws.

More homeless people expected to vote this fall - Associated Press; The Raw Story
Among the record number of voters expected to cast ballots this fall may be an increase from an often-invisible population - the homeless.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

'Jim Crow Era' Voter Restrictions Continue to 'Dampen Voting Power'

project vote — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:09:11 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Despite growing political interest among Americans, this November millions of people who "live, work and raise families in our communities" will be denied the right to elect our next president as a result of a past felony conviction. Felon disenfranchisement has raised concerns among advocates and legislators that such laws further perpetuate disparities not only in the electorate, but also in society.
"Voting is a fundamental right, not a privilege for the virtuous," the Boston Globe editorialized Tuesday. Currently, 25 states deny the voting rights of parolees while 10 states permanently restrict voting rights of some or all felons.

The Globe cited a report by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law. The non-partisan public policy and law institute is "also touting federal legislation that would guarantee 4 million released prisoners the right to vote at least in federal elections," according to the Globe.

"Felony disenfranchisement serves no legitimate purpose," the Brennan Center notes in Restoring the Right to Vote. "More disconcerting," adds the report, is that "these laws are rooted in the Jim Crow era and were designed to lock freed slaves out of the voting process. It is time to remove this last barrier to the franchise."

The Globe addressed the issue of former felons - particularly minorities - being disconnected from political and economic life, which in effect "dampens the voting power" for their communities. According to the Brennan Center, 13% of Black men have lost the right to vote at a rate "that is seven times the national average."

"These statistics mirror stark racial disparities in the criminal justice system," the Brennan Center reported. "Nearly half of U.S. prison inmates are African-American, even though African Americans make up just 13 percent of the national population."

Furthermore, "the long-term disenfranchisement of ex-cons creates opportunities for mischief," the Globe editorialized. "In 2000, Florida denied the vote to innocent people with names similar to those in a national database of felons."

Today, "legislators and voters are realizing that most prisoners eventually get out, and need to find a place in society. Restoring their right to vote can only help," the Globe wrote.

A 2006 survey found 60 percent of Americans "think the right to vote is an important factor in a person's successful reintegration into society after incarceration," according to the Brennan Center. Picking up on this trend, 12 states introduced bills to extend voting rights to felons this year, including the recently adjourned state of Louisiana, which sent a bill to the governor requiring the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to provide former felons with information on how to register and reinstate voting rights. To monitor this bill as well as those in several other states, visit www.ElectionLegislation.org.

Although the state of Virginia did not introduce such bills during the 2008 legislative session, Governor Tim Kaine recently expressed interest in extending voting rights to non-violent former felons, according to Washington D.C. talk radio station WTOP. Currently, the state permanently disenfranchises convicted felons.

"When somebody wants to participate, I think we ought to have procedures that enable them to once they've shown that can do fine in civil society," said Kaine.

Quick Links:
Wood, Erika. "Restoring the Right to Vote." Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. February 2008.
"Restoring Voting Rights to Former Felons." Project Vote. January 2007.
"Felony Disenfranchisement Laws in the United States." The Sentencing Project. March 2008.
ElectionLegislation.org

In Other News:

Lawmaker wants to lower voting age - Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Gene Mullin wants to lower the voting age in hopes of boosting participation at the polls among young adults.

New Secretary of State unit dedicated to stop voter fraud - The Clanton Advertiser [Ala.]
MONTGOMERY - Secretary of State Beth Chapman has announced a new Voter Fraud Unit within the Secretary of State's office dedicated to dealing with reports of voter fraud.?

Carcieri proposes photo ID requirement for voters - Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Gov. Don Carcieri is calling for election reform in Rhode Island.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

'Victory for Voter's Rights' Ensures Fair Elections

project vote — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:35:54 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

The battle to protect the voting rights of low income and minority citizens was marked by several victories last week. In addition to the "three key battles" on voting rights outlined by Steven Rosenfeld last Friday - Missouri's controversial voter ID defeat, Arizona's agreement to comply with federal voter registration law, and voter ID crusader, Hans von Spakovsky's withdrawal from his Federal Election Commission nomination- on Monday Kansas governor, Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a voter ID bill citing "I cannot support creating any roadblock to prevent our citizens from adding their voices to the democratic discourse that makes our nation great," she said.
A Close Call for Voting Rights

Two onerous bills requiring both proof of citizenship to register to vote and government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot narrowly missed enactment this past week.

High profile Missouri bill, HJR 48, estimated to disenfranchise up to 240,000 registered voters who would be unable to prove their citizenship, failed to pass the Senate before the state legislature adjourned on Friday. The bill failed "in part because of pressure by the secretary of state and grass-roots groups," reported Saturday's New York Times.

"You rarely see pressure move this fast or this effectively," said Project Vote deputy director, Michael Slater in the Times, referring to the numerous opinion pieces in papers across the country expressing public outrage against voter ID. Voters and election activists from across the state also voiced their opinions through 4,200 calls to lawmakers, "urging them to not consider this legislation," according to the Missourians for Fair Elections.

"It's a victory for voters' rights," Carnahan told the Times after the bill was defeated. "This debate has been about ensuring fair elections, and elections cannot be fair if eligible voters are not allowed to make their voice heard on Election Day."

While much attention was focused on Missouri's HJR 48, a little known bill proposing a similar proof of citizenship and voter ID requirement made it to the governor's desk in neighboring state, Kansas. On Monday, Gov. Sebelius vetoed the bill, reinforcing a point that advocates have been making for years: "HB 2019 seeks to solve a problem of voter fraud which does not exist in our state due to the tireless efforts of our local election officials," according to the Kansas City Star.

Currently, 10 states have pending voter ID bills and eight are considering proof of citizenship. Some of these bills may be monitored at Project Vote's election bill tracking Web site, www.ElectionLegislation.org (registration required).

Arizona's Compliance with the National Voter Registration Act

Arizona - the only state to require proof of citizenship from voter applicants - has rejected 37,000 new applications since the law was implemented in 2004.

As Rosenfeld wrote: "This past January, Project Vote and Demos, two voter advocacy groups, sent a letter to Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer notifying her that Arizona was not in compliance with the public agency provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The letter said voter registration at the state's welfare had declined 70 percent over the past 12 years."

Late last week, Arizona and the U.S. Justice Department agreed to comply with federal law by offering voter registration at public assistance agencies.

"This agreement ends the need for litigation and means Arizona will bring voter registration to the state's low-income communities," said Slater in a statement last Friday. "Project Vote applauds the Justice Department and Arizona's Department of Economic Security for working together for the benefit of all Arizonans."

Withdrawal of Controversial FEC Nominee

And in another victory for voting rights, "President Bush's contentious nominee for the Federal Election Commission removed his name from consideration," the Associated Press reported Friday. His withdrawal is expected to end "a lengthy stalemate that had paralyzed the work of the agency."

During his tenure at the Bush Justice Department, von Spakovsky played a leading role in politicizing the DOJ, misdirecting the power of the Civil Rights Division to suppress - not protect -- African American and Latino voters. His time with the Justice Department was marked by controversy, most vehemently over his approval of the Georgia voter ID law, approval of Tom Delay's Texas redistricting plans, and the exodus of career staff. Project Vote helped Congress and the media uncover von Spakovsky's role as the leading architect of voter suppression at DOJ and then worked to keep the Senate unified against his nomination to the FEC. His withdrawal after a year-long standoff represents a major step towards preserving the integrity of the electoral process.

Quick Links:
Restrictive Voter Identification Requirements. Project Vote. December 2006.
NVRA Implementation Project
ElectionLegislation.org

In Other News:

Texas attorney general's two-year effort fails to unravel large-scale voter-fraud schemes - Denton Record Chronicle
AUSTIN - More than two years ago, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott pledged to root out what he called an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas.

Voting rights elusive for ex-felons: Virginia joins Kentucky with harsh reinstatement laws - C-Ville
In the coming summer months, when Virginia Organizing Project (VOP) organizer Harold Folley knocks on doors and talks to folks about the 2008 elections, inevitably some will tell him that they aren't able to vote. And just maybe, Folley will lean in and pry a bit, stick his nose in their business, and discover that a felony conviction, even decades old, has taken away someone's civil rights.

OPINION: Same-day democracy - Adrian Walker; Boston Globe
Diane Jeffery is president of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, but she remembers perfectly well the day she was not allowed to vote.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Texas AG Treads Familiar Voter Suppression Path

project vote — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:43:23 GMT

By Nathan Henderson-James

Reports out of Texas over the past month show a pattern familiar to voting rights groups: top law enforcement officials engaged in deeply politicized efforts to push prosecutions and policies that disenfranchise low-income and minority voters. Steve Rosenfeld, writing in the Texas Observer, lays out the the whole story in detail, but the general gist feels a lot like the politicization scandal the US Department of Justice brought to light over the course of 2007.

Citing "reports from over a hundred years of voter fraud in South Texas" the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbot, set up a special task force in 2006 called the Special Investigations Unit with a $1.5 million grant and used it to search for instances of widespread voter fraud. Ideally such cases would be used to justify the pursuit of voter suppression policies like voter identification. Abbot is on record supporting such a policy, which was defeated in the 2006 Texas legislative session when a sick senator hooked up to an IV made his way onto the Senate floor to sustain the blockage of the bill.

Over the course of Abbot's investigations he has managed to bring a total of 26 cases, as Wayne Slater, writing in the Dallas Morning News reports today. Of those 26, two involved actual voters casting illegal ballots. Six appear to have been voter registration fraud and the remaining 18 were technical violations of mail-in ballot rules, specifically having a 3rd party mail the filled-in ballot without placing the 3rd party's name and address on the return label.

Here's what the AG's office had to say about that,

"These guilty pleas demonstrate precisely why it is so important to uphold the integrity of our election process in the state," Abbott said, speaking of Ray's and Johnson's convictions in a press release. "We will visit justice upon any who ignore the fact that we have election laws in Texas and they apply to everyone."

But as is often the case, other people had other views,

Lisa Turner, of the Lone Star Project, said Abbott's goal was not merely to prosecute little old ladies. Rather, Turner said, it was to send a message to Texas' minority communities, which lean Democratic, by sowing fear among the elderly about voting by mail. The Lone Star Project is a political action committee that first exposed Abbott's prosecutions, issued reports on it, and maintains a staff to fight voter suppression in the state.

"It's the equivalent of when a gang moves into a neighborhood and spray-paints their graffiti or their marker; it's not to deface one building. It is to send a message," Turner said. "You have agents of the attorney general walking through a neighborhood, walking past three crack houses, to go talk to a voter. Think about that. What does that say their priorities are? It's about holding on to the levers of power."

All of these cases involve low-income voters and all involve minorities. But none show any kind of widespread problem with voter fraud, the kind that partisans rail to frequently against as a rising threat to the integrity of the American electoral system. Because, frankly, such a threat simply does not exist. As Josh Marshal, writing at Talking Points Memo puts it,

No one denies there are isolated cases of vote fraud. The question is how organized and widespread it is, whether it's affecting the outcomes of any actual elections, and whether (depending on the answers to those questions) whether the extent of the problem justifies measures which also have the effect of making it either more difficult or more perilous for eligible voters to exercise their rights at the ballot box. The fact that these politicized and morally corrupt prosecutors offices can't come up with more than a trivial number of actual cases makes the answer to the question pretty straightforward.

Remember the larger context too. In the case of the US Attorney firings, most of the dismissals targeted prosecutors who refused to use the power of their office to advance the interests of the Republican party by engaging in these kinds of witch hunts.

Not surprisingly, Abbot is also pushing for a new law in Texas to require photo IDs to be allowed to vote -- the latest gambit to try to shave a few percentage points off voter participation among the targeted groups.

The recent fight in Missouri revolved aorund the same issues and Project Vote expect this and other tactics related to the suppression of already-marginalized voting groups to continue to crop up, especially as the national election in November steadily approaches. But, as we've seen from 2007 onwards, partisans seeking to shape the electorate to gain power, rather than by winning the votes of a majority of eligible voters, rarely rest and often engage in long-term efforts to lock out large segments of citizens from the foundational right of American democracy.

Project Vote tracks legal efforts to disenfranchise voters through its ElectionLegislation.org website and has provides technical assistance to state-based advocates working to defend voting rights. For more information you can visit our website and sign-up for our monthly newsletter, Democracy Matters.

Nathan Henderson-James is the director of Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Block The Vote! Proof of Citizenship On The Rise, Flashpoint Mo.

project vote — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:57:43 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Requiring proof-of-citizenship in order to register to vote is the latest addition to voter suppression arsenal. Spurred by Arizona's 2004 implementation of proof of citizenship requirements and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold Indiana's strict voter ID law, proof of citizenship bills - often coupled with voter ID - are gaining traction across the country. With more than 13 million Americans lacking ready access to citizenship documentation and scant evidence of voter registration fraud by non-citizens (or any voter for that matter) leading to illegal votes, proof of citizenship requirements could have a significant impact on the electorate. Wasting no time after the high court's decision, the neighboring states of Kansas and Missouri have swiftly moved forward with efforts to pass such legislation that could take effect in the November election.
Missouri's HJR 48 - a constitutional amendment to require proof of identification at the polls - also requires proof of citizenship in order register to vote. As the New York Times reported on the front page Monday, "sponsors of the amendment - which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum - say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting the political process. Critics say the measure could lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of legal residents who would find it difficult to prove their citizenship."

Missouri's own Secretary of State, Robin Carnahan estimates 300,000 voters could be disenfranchised this November for what she considers to be a Republican wild goose chase for "'mythical problems,'" according to ConsortiumNews.com and the Associated Press, respectively.

Carnahan questions the type of "voter fraud" cited by advocates - including the ultimately rectified voter registration of a dog - as none of it would be resolved by voter ID, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune: "Have we had instances of improper voting registrations? Yes. Have we had instances of improper absentee voting? Yes. Is this government ID to vote going to impact any of those? No."

Carnahan said there have been no reports of voter impersonation fraud in the state, rendering requirements to prove citizenship to register and identity to vote useless at best and disenfranchising at worst.

The situation in Missouri is especially urgent as the state Senate must decide the fate of the constitutional amendment before the legislative session ends Friday. And even if the amendment fails to come to a vote, the governor has the option to call a special session just to consider this highly partisan (it passed in the Missouri State House on a strict party-line vote) measure. Advocates are preparing for the worst and gearing up to fight the amendment at the ballot box in August.

Rapidly progressing proof-of-citizenship/voter ID hybrid legislation is not exclusive to Missouri. Last week, Kansas' legislature approved HB 2019, a measure to require both proof of citizenship at registration from first-time applicants and voter ID from all voters at the polls. Despite approval by the legislature, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' office is expected to veto the bill "as she has other voter ID legislation in the past," according to the Wichita Eagle.

"To its earliest proponents, voter registration was intended as an anti-fraud safeguard" and occurrences of fraud have been rare, according to Project Vote report, "The Politics of Voter Fraud." According to the report, between 2002 and 2005, 21 non-citizens were prosecuted for voter registration fraud across the country. Four of these were dismissed, one was acquitted, three pleaded guilty and thirteen were convicted.

And despite their best efforts, the federal government was only able to secure convictions of 11 non citizens for voting illegally during the same period. That is to say, 11 votes out of 214 million cast for federal elections were by non citizens.

In addition to allegedly preventing the rare crimes of voter registration fraud and voter impersonation fraud - crimes for which there are already laws on the books to prevent - citizenship and ID requirements create obstacles for many Americans who want to participate in the democratic electoral process. Polling data by a Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law survey found that 13 million individuals were without ready access to citizenship documentation, including birth certificate, passports and naturalization papers.

Currently, only Arizona requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. Since adopting the measure in 2004, more than 38,000 voter registration applications have been thrown out, according to the New York Times. "More than 70 percent of those registrations came from people who stated under oath that they were born in the United States, the data showed."

To date, Project Vote has monitored proof-of-citizenship bills introduced in 19 states, including Kansas' HB 2019 and Missouri's HJR 48. Currently, 11 states have pending proof of citizenship legislation. To track these bills, visit Project Vote election bill tracking website, ElectionLegislation.org.

The following states are considering proof of citizenship requirements at registration as of May 15, 2008: Calif., Ill., Kan., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., N.Y., Okla., S.C., and Tenn.

Quick Links:
For more information on the fight in Missouri contact Laura Egerdal at 314-363-5571 or Missourians for Fair Elections at mofairelections@gmail.com.
Pending Proof of Citizenship Bills:
Calif:
A 2317
Sponsor: Asm. Mimi Walters (R-73)
Ill.
S 103
Sponsor: Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-25)
Kan.
H 2019
Governor: Kathleen Sebelius
Mass.
H 648
Sponsor: Rep. Paul K. Frost (R-7th Worcester)
H 653
Sponsor: Rep. Bradford R. Hill (R-4th Essex)
Mich.
H 5337
Sponsor: Rep. David Law (R 39)
Minn.
S 188
Sponser: Sen. Amy Koch (R-19)
Mo.
HJR 48
Sponsor: Rep. Stanley Cox (R-118)
H 1317
Sponsor: Rep. Cynthia L. Davis (R-19)
N.Y.
S 6543
Sponsor: Sen John J. Flanagan (R-2)
Okla.
H 1803
Sponsor: Rep. Randy Terrill (R-53)
S 417
Sponsor: Sen. Anthony Sykes (R-24)
S.C.
H 3343
Sponsor: Rep. Gloria Haskins (R-22)
Tenn.
H 408, H 409
Sponsor: Rep. Curry Todd (R-95)
H 3050, H 3052
Sponsor: Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-3)
S 1610, S 1611
Sponsor: Sen. Mark S. Norris (R-32)
S 2794, S 2810
Sponsor: Sen. Jim Tracy (R-16)

In Other News:

BLOG: Missourians: Take Action Now or Lose Voting Rights, Dem Victory - Art Levine; Huffington Post
Missouri, the battleground state that has accurately picked the presidential winner in every election since the 1950s, now faces an unprecedented peril this week: the theft of the voting rights of at least 240,000 of its citizens (nuns included) and the sure loss of the swing state of Missouri to Republicans in the Presidential race in November. And If Obama, the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party loses Missouri, he will likely lose the fall election as well.

Wyo works to avoid absentee ballot fraud - Jackson Hole Star Tribune
CHEYENNE -- Wyoming county election officials appear to be well ahead of other states in how they prevent fraud with absentee ballots in nursing homes.

Confusing ballot designs still plague elections - Associated Press
The solution should have been a no-brainer, voting experts say. After all, it was a badly designed ballot that enflamed the 2000 election meltdown and introduced the vagaries of chads to the political lexicon - pregnant, hanging and otherwise.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

Counter-Framing Voter ID: Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege

project vote — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:45:22 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns and Nathan Henderson-James

Project Vote normally uses this update to give news roundups on voting rights-related stories from the past week. However, with the reverberations from the Supreme Court's Crawford vs. Marion County voter identification decision just starting to filter down into statehouses across the country, we felt it was necessary to spend this update concentrating solely on voter ID, giving progressives a concise summary of the problems associated with it and offer some framing devices to help fight against it.
Although voter turnout in presidential primaries has been at an all time high across the nation, voter ID laws bode ill for electoral participation in the future, especially in races that are not subject to the kind of energy and excitement engulfing the contested Democratic nominating contests.

Supporters of strict voter ID requirements often invoke the ease of obtaining ID in order to dismiss any opposition to their measures. Indeed, Justice Antonin Scalia asserted that the burden of obtaining photo identification in order to vote is "minimal and justified," in his opinion upholding Indiana's voter ID law last week. But at least 21 million Americans without valid ID have a different idea of what the Justices deem "minimal". These real people include several elderly nuns and college students in South Bend, Indiana who were turned away from the polls for lacking proper ID Tuesday.

However, to engage solely on the relative size of the barrier to exercising the foundational right of American democracy is to miss the larger frame. Fundamentally, strict voter ID laws exist to stop otherwise eligible people from voting. The battle should not be about the size of the barrier, but about the existence of the barrier in the first place.

For example, many supporters of strict voter ID note that one needs photo ID to board a plane, or obtain a bank loan, or even get a membership at the gym. The difference between these privileges and voting is that voting is a right of citizenship guaranteed by the Constitution. Joining 24 Hour Fitness is not. To declare that we must overcome hurdles to exercise our fundamental democratic right as citizens is a conservative frame designed to case voting as a privilege to be awarded by partisan politicians rather than a right which government at all levels has a responsibility to facilitate, not block.

Here is how voter ID blocks the right to vote, as illustrated in Indiana by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Voter ID laws are a solution in search of a problem

"The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who have also acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted in Indiana," wrote AP reporter, Deborah Hastings Tuesday.

This fact, coupled with a 2007 study by the University of Washington, which found 21.8% of Indiana's black voters and 22% of young voters do not have valid ID, should raise questions on why such a law exists in the first place.

Nationally, 21 million Americans of voting age do not have valid, government issued photo ID, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. This proportion is higher for specific groups, including 6 million elderly citizens and 5.5 million voting-age blacks.

Nationally, between 2002 and 2005, only 24 people were convicted of voter fraud on the federal level. During that same period of time, more than 200 million votes were case in federal elections. Twenty-four convictions from 200 million votes hardly indicates a problem that demands a solution that stops more people from voting than it facilitates.

As these numbers show, Americans take voting seriously and do not misrepresent themselves at the polls. Politicians shouldn't misrepresent the facts to justify unnecessary voter ID laws. With no evidence of voter fraud and a disproportionate burden on certain groups, voter ID laws have nothing positive to offer. Existing laws provide plenty of protection to ensure voting integrity. The only possible conclusion to draw for enacting a law that does not stop the problem it purports to address while simultaneously stopping otherwise eligible citizens from voting is that partisans want to select the electorate that votes, rather than allowing the electorate to select its own representatives. In other words, this is about stopping specific groups of people from participating, rather than addressing any problem with elections in the United States.

Americans have a right to vote, even if they do not have a photo ID

About 12 Indiana nuns, a newly married woman, and at least a dozen students were turned away from the polls in South Bend, Indiana on Tuesday for not having state or federal-issued, photographic proof of identity that reflected their legal names and current residences as recorded on the state's voter rolls, according to Hastings.

Each of these citizens was born with the right to vote once they reach voting age, but none of them had the newly required documents to do so. Lawmakers and many Americans claim that "state IDs are cheap and easy to get" and that it is a simple price to pay to maintain integrity of elections. However, although state IDs are cheap - around $20 - proof of citizenship documents required for state ID applications are not.

Seven percent of all American citizens lack access to citizenship documentation. This problem disproportionately affects those who earn less than $25,000 per year. Replacement birth certificates can exceed $40. A passport costs $97. For naturalized Americans, replacement citizenship documents cost $220. All of these financial burdens are layered on top of the need to deal with state or federal bureaucracies, which often involves taking time off from work, traveling to distant offices, and standing in long lines.

Again, however, debating the size, shape, and color of the barrier to the right to vote, should be accompanied by a frame that questions the necessity of the barrier in the first place. Remember, unlike other rights, such as speech, government controls all the mechanisms by which the right to vote is exercised. So, if assuring ballot integrity is a worthy goal - and Project Vote agrees that it is - laws that create barriers must prove that they are not hindering more eligible citizens from voting than they are catching ineligible voters. Given the infrequency of voter fraud in America and the burdens associated with complying with strict voter ID laws, they clearly fail this cost-benefit test.

Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship laws are part of a partisan effort disenfranchise select groups of voters

Since the beginning of voting, partisans have tried to bend the rules to maintain power. This deeply self-interested approach to voting has been a part of America's contested political culture since the original Constitution denied women and blacks the right to vote and is still seen frequently during close electoral contests.

Requiring voters to show photo ID is just one of many hurdles partisans put up to make it more difficult for certain people to vote. Underrepresented groups are encouraged to stay that way through long lines at polling places, partisan vote challenges and vote caging, faulty or inadequate equipment, and poorly trained poll workers in addition to the imposition of onerous voter ID requirements. Forty-three years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the poll tax is making a comeback.

But, the most insidious part of strict voter ID laws is not the direct effect they have on specific voters turned away from the polls. It is on the spread of disinformation, fear, and intimidation among under-served populations that will deter large portions of them from participating in future elections. According to Hastings, one 19-year-old Notre Dame student, Angela Hiss, said she was turned away on Tuesday after providing her school ID and Illinois driver's license without being offered a provisional ballot, as required by law. Widespread coverage of this incident will discourage similarly situated voters from participating in the future.

Further, the focus on the non-issue of voter impersonation distracts from real systemic problems such as the failure of poll workers at Hiss' polling place to follow other aspects of election law governing the use of provisional ballots. These kinds of errors disenfranchise far more people than have ever been denied the right to vote through voter impersonation..

The right to vote and have that vote counted has been under assault for the past eight years by partisans who put their electoral success above that right. The recent scandals involving the firings of the US Attorneys at the Department of Justice stand in stark testament to this fact. The issue is not that voter fraud is prevalent or that voter ID is easy to obtain, as it is clear that neither is true. The ultimate issue is the strength of American democracy. Will we allow partisans to erect barriers to voting or will we demand our elected representatives stand up for our intrinsic rights as American citizens - rights that as recently as 40 years ago people died to see defended?

Quick Links:
Citizens Without Proof: A Survey of Americans' Possession of Documentary Proof of Citizenship and Photo Identification. Brennan Center for Justice. 2006.
The Disproportionate Impact of Indiana Voter ID Requirements on the Electorate. University of Washington. University of Washington. November 2007.
The Politics of Voter Fraud. Project Vote. March 2007.

In Other News:

Mo. voters may decide on photo ID requirement - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
JEFFERSON CITY - Voters could decide whether to enact a photo ID requirement for voting under a proposed constitutional amendment given first-round approval Wednesday by the Missouri House.

Voter ID bill dies in Senate - Tulsa World
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Senate Democrats killed a bill Tuesday that would have required voters to show identification at the polls.

Heavy voting causes Ind. ballot shortages, delays tallies - Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS - Voters energized by the Democratic presidential race turned out in record numbers for Indiana's primary Tuesday, causing scattered ballot shortages across the state.

Erin Ferns is a research and policy analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD). Nathan Henderson-James is SWORD's director.

Legal Voter Disenfranchisement - Coming Soon To A State Near You

project vote — Thu, 01 May 2008 18:43:53 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's blog, Voting Matters

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Supreme Court Legalizes Voter Disenfranchisement

In the midst of a presidential election year that is seeing record-breaking voter turnout in state after state, the Supreme Court on April 28 ruled in favor of Indiana's draconian voter ID requirement. The controversial law - which requires all voters to provide government issued, photographic proof of identity in order to vote at the polls - threatens to create a legislative domino effect of new voter ID laws ready for implementation before November.
"The use of photo IDs as a way to curb voter fraud has become a touchstone for Democrats who accuse the GOP of engaging in a vast conspiracy to restrict voting of the poor, the elderly and minorities," wrote Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers.

"And civil rights activists say that there is little history of voter fraud in Indiana,"according to BBC News. The news service quoted Democratic Senator Charles Schumer: "This decision is a body blow to what America stands for - equal access to the polls."

Voter ID requirements would indeed hinder access to the polls, according to a 2006 study by Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. The study found 25 percent of black and 16 percent of Latino voting age citizens do not have valid identification, compared to eight percent of white voting age citizens. Likewise, voting age citizens earning less than $35,000 per year are twice as likely to be without valid ID than those earning more. Finally, young and elderly voting age citizens would be greatly affected by ID requirements as four million and six million respectively do not have valid forms of identification.

Academic studies on states with active photo ID laws reflect similar statistics. A 2007 University of Washington study of Indiana's voter ID requirement found 21.8 percent of black voters lack required ID, compared to 15.8 percent of whites. Among Indiana voters earning below $40,000 per year, 21.1 percent lack proper ID compared to the 12.7 percent that earn more. Most affected by ID requirements is Indiana's young voting population with 22 percent lacking required ID. Minority voters in Georgia also disproportionately lack identification, according 2007 University of Georgia study, which found 6.8 percent of black and 7.2 percent of Latino registered voters without driver's licenses, compared to just 3.7 percent of whites.

"The Supreme Court ruling is disappointing for Americans who want the next president to be chosen in a free and fair election in which all eligible voters have an equal opportunity to participate. The voters most harmed by the ruling are first-time voters who are registering this year in record numbers," said Donna Massey, Project Vote Board Member and a supporter of voting rights in a statement Monday.

"The only reason politicians support these laws is to give their party an advantage over the other," she said. "The Supreme Court took note of the partisan nature of the photo ID rules. The Court's opinion in the case said it was 'fair to infer that partisan considerations may have played a significant role' in enacting the photo ID law.

"This ruling sends an unfortunate green light to legislators in the 24 states that are still considering strict photo voter ID laws... Too many Americans of color are met at their polling places with long lines, partisan challengers, faulty equipment and needlessly strict photo ID requirements."

The "green light" on voter ID is not only expected to give the go-ahead to legislators, but will potentially confuse poll workers and voters on Election Day in states without ID requirements, according to Ian Urbina of the New York Times. Urbina quoted Jonah Goldman of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: "Even before the verdict, we saw confusion surrounding voter ID laws, and now voters and poll workers are more likely to think the Supreme Court just approved some national voter ID law, which indeed they did not."

The impact of the decision is also expected to be put to the test in Indiana's primary election next Tuesday, which, coupled with the anticipated large turnout, will "provide a good set of circumstances to evaluate the law's impact on voters," according to AHN Media.

Current Voter ID Laws Bring Lawsuits and Deter Voters

"Congress investigated the Bush Administration's Justice Department last year over allegations that its Civil Rights Division had twisted enforcement of the nation's voting rights laws to aid Republicans and had authorized restrictive voter ID laws in various states," wrote Gordon. Among those states is Georgia, which recently had a lawsuit against the law pending on the Supreme Court ruling.

Although the high court ruled in favor of photo ID, the challenge will go forward. But "the case is likely to face an uphill battle," wrote Shannon McCaffrey of the Associated Press. In 2005, Georgia's initial voter law was struck down as an unconstitutional poll tax. It was later approved after revision to provide free ID for indigent voters.

Despite Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel's claims that the state's voter ID requirement did not disenfranchise one voter out of two million on Super Tuesday, state officials report otherwise. The photo ID requirements forced 416 Georgia voters to cast provisional ballots because they lacked necessary ID, McCaffrey wrote. "Of those, 120 returned with an acceptable ID in time for their ballots to count, officials said." That, of course, left 316 voters out in the cold.

Disenfranchisement of legitimate voters was also exhibited in "Arizona where there is evidence that during the last three votes - the 2006 primary and general election and this year's presidential preference election - a total of about 3,000 people ended up not being able to vote because of the law," according to Howard Fischer of the East Valley Tribune.

And despite the Supreme Court's ruling on Indiana's law, it "does not necessarily mean a similar Arizona law is legal," Fischer wrote.

That state law is currently being challenged and is scheduled for trial on July 27. Unlike the Indiana case, the "Arizona lawsuit contains something not in the Indiana case and not considered by the nation's high court: a contention that the mandate unfairly affects minorities."

Prevalence of Voter ID Legislation

"'Now we have a very clear roadmap for other states to follow,'" said Indiana Republican secretary of state, Todd Rokita, according to the McClatchy report. "'We've been getting calls from 25 other states that have been waiting for a green light, waiting to proceed.'"

In the 2007-2008 legislative session, Project Vote monitored 59 voter ID bills in 24 states. Forty are still pending as of April 30. Since Monday, numerous states expressed support for passing voter ID laws if not this year, in years to come.

In Missouri, Republican efforts to implement a voter ID requirement may get a "second chance," despite the fact that the former ID law was thrown out for violating the state constitution in 2006, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In the wake of the story some media outlets dredged up Thor Hearne, co-founder and general counsel for the now-defunct Republican front group, American Center for Voting Rights, to offer his input on the high court ruling: "'The opponents' arguments have had their day in court ... and been rejected...It wouldn't surprise me if people revisit Missouri's election laws.'"

Before disappearing without a trace in the heat of the 2007 U.S. Attorneys scandal, ACVR's work centered around pushing a central tenet of conservative ideology, namely that the country was awash in voter fraud and the best protections for the ballot were strict voter ID laws. However, voter impersonation, the only kind of fraud blocked by voter ID laws is vanishingly small in the United States with fewer than two dozen federal convictions since 2002 for more than 200 million votes cast.

Other states to follow Indiana's lead include Kansas, where Senate Bill 169 "appears near certain to pass" during the wrap-up session that began yesterday, according to the Wichita Eagle Tuesday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that voter ID is "an issue important to Kansas Republican legislators, especially among lawmakers urging a crackdown on illegal immigration." However, illegal voting by non-citizens is a non-issue as out of 214 million ballots cast for federal elections between 2002 and 2005, just 15 were by non-citizens. Further, obtaining a driver's license or state ID does not require or indicate citizenship.

Another state attempted to illustrate problems of voter fraud, by citing indictments for what appears to be election fraud covered by Mississippi local broadcast news outlet, WTOK TV. Fifteen Mississippians were allegedly paid to vote, something that is not addressed by voter identification requirements. In Mississippi, where seven voter ID bills failed this session, "first-year Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said at least next session, there will be precedence to take to legislators."

Like Mississippi, several Wisconsin voter ID bills failed this legislative session, but state Republicans are determined to pass a voter ID law. "Because [Democratic Gov. Jim] Doyle has vetoed three photo ID measures, Republicans have focused on changing the state constitution, a process that does not require the governor's approval. But that move has stalled," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

One state that was not in session this year, but withstood an intense fight to bar a voter ID bill from passing last year, hopes to bring it up again in 2009. Texas Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst "hailed" the Supreme Court decision, while Democratic Senator Marion Gallegos of Houston called voter ID requirements "legal discrimination," according to the Associated Press.

The Supreme Court's decision is best summed by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), who said the ruling justified an "unconstitutional solution in search of a problem...It is sad that the court finds it acceptable to turn back the clock and once again sanction the disenfranchisement of voters."

Quick Links:
State Contacts:
Kan.
Senate
Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler
Miss.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann
Senate
House of Representatives
Mo.
Senate
House of Representatives
Wis.
Senate
House of Representatives
Texas
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst
Senate
House of Representatives
Voter ID Guides and Reports
Indiana Photo Voter ID Requirements
State Requirements for Voters ID. National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Politics of Voter Fraud. Project Vote. March 2007.
Restrictive Voter ID Requirements. Project Vote. December 2006.

In Other News:

90,000 Have Voted Early For Indiana Primary - Associated Press
Some 90,000 people have already cast ballots for next week's Indiana primary, far outpacing the total number of absentee votes during the last presidential primary in 2004.

Latino voting potential is at record level - Los Angeles Daily News
A growing number of immigrants and their children is pushing Latino voting strength in California to record levels and could alter local legislative and congressional races in coming elections, according to an analysis of potential new voters released today.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).

The War On Voting Rights: Voter Fraud Smears, Voter ID And Corruption At DOJ

project vote — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:40:42 GMT

America's Democratic Promise
The history of democracy in the United States is one marked by the steady, though intensely contested, expansion of the right to vote. Where once only male landowners were permitted the right to choose their representatives, the United States now proudly extends that right to all adult citizens. The most recent expansion of the franchise were the result of years of struggle through the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. The seminal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 26th Amendment ratified in 1971 created enforcement mechanisms to protect minority voting rights and extended the right to vote to 18 year olds.
But these struggles are not over. Despite these advances, enshrined in the Constitution itself not just in the 26th Amendment, but also the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments, attempts by powerful forces to exclude historically disenfranchised populations from the electoral arena have not abated. Perhaps the most vivid and pervasive of these attempts in recent history is encapsulated in the exposure of the US Attorneys scandal that engulfed the Department of Justice starting the late winter and early spring of 2007.

America's Unrepresentative Electorate
But first, let's give some context to the stakes at risk in this fight for America's democratic legacy. It is no secret that the electorate does not equally represent all Americans. In fact, if minorities voted at the same rate as whites, there would be an increase of 7.5 million voters on Election Day. One of the biggest reasons minority voting rates are so much lower than those of whites, the most enfranchised group in the electorate, rests with their lower rates of voter registration. Only 61% of African-Americans and 54% of Latinos are registered to vote compared with 71% of whites. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the American electorate reflects the make-up of America's citizens, groups like Project Vote engage in large-scale voter registration efforts among historically underrepresented groups. (Indeed, over the last two election cycles Project Vote, working with local field partners such as unions and community organizations, has helped 1.6 million people register to vote and will assist another 1.2 million do the same in time for Election Day 2008.)

Creating an electorate that accurately reflects America has important implications for public policy choices as candidates are forced to compete for the votes of these new voters by addressing the issues that resonate most deeply with them. However, the intense focus that progressives put on Election Day dirty tricks and the problems of electronic voting machines is wasted if they do not also recognize that systemic attempts to lock entire groups out of the process months and years before Election Day pose just as much - if not order of magnitude more - risk to representative democracy in the United States.

The Conservative War on Voting Rights
Three recent articles made available online this week - including two by Art Levine and one by Steve Rosenfeld - focus on the partisan subversion of the Department of Justice and show how partisan schemes to engage in widespread voter suppression targeted one of the most active defenders of the rights of poor people and people of color. These articles have exposed what amounts to an entire war waged by conservatives against the voting rights gains of the past generation. Taken in total, the picture that emerges shows nothing less than an attempt to take America back to days of segregation and Jim Crow except this time the marauders are wearing suits and ties and carry briefcases rather than wearing white hoods and sheets and burning crosses. Even more disturbing is their willingness to subvert the non-partisan nature of the nation's top law enforcement institution, the Department of Justice and commit the resources of the Federal government to the systematic disenfranchisement of American citizens.

The Myth Of Voter Fraud and Attacks on ACORN
The threat of voter suppression "by propagating the myth of voter fraud" was thoroughly outlined by writer Art Levine at The American Prospect Tuesday: "Using various tactics -- including media smears, bogus lawsuits, restrictive new voting laws and policies, and flimsy prosecutions -- Republican operatives, election officials, and the GOP-controlled Justice Department have limited voting access and gone after voter-registration groups such as ACORN [Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now]."

"The organization has been a favorite target of Republicans promoting the myth of widespread voter fraud because of its success in registering Democratic-leaning minority voters since 2004, according to reports by McClatchy Newspapers, The American Prospect, and other outlets," Levine wrote in the Huffington Post on the community organization, which advocates for low-income families and partners with Project Vote in conducting voter registration drives.

Such efforts by ACORN and other organizations have suffered from voter registration drive restrictions enacted after partisans made bogus claims of voter fraud, including one in New Mexico where ACORN alone dropped their state registration rate from 35,000 new voters in 2004 to just 2,000 in 2006. That same year, former U.S. attorney for New Mexico, David Iglesias concluded there was not enough evidence of voter fraud in the state to proceed with indictments. As a result of his findings (or lack thereof), he was fired in a move that triggered exposure of the systematic politicization of the Justice Department.

The real reason for raising the specter of voter fraud was delineated in clear and comprehensive detail by Levine, from the Huffington Post article, in what amounts to a case study of voter suppression from a 2006 Congressional race in Dallas, Texas.

The Dallas incident, it turns out, perfectly symbolizes the no-holds-barred Republican politics of voter fraud. The intimidating flier was part of a brazen vote-suppression and smear campaign designed to undermine a Democratic candidate, Harriet Miller, in a tight local race in 2006 to challenge Texas House Rep. Tony Goolsby in a racially mixed North Dallas district.
The frightening and deceptive mailer, highlighted with ACORN's trademark red and black colors, was sent to thousands of black residents a few days before the election: "Beware: A national political group suspected of voter fraud [i.e., ACORN] is currently working in your neighborhood to bring people to the polls on election day...Don't be a victim of voter fraud -- it could result in jail time for you."
The flier appeared to have its intended effect of intimidating some black voters. Lawrence Jones, a 63-year-old retiree and an active ACORN member, vividly recalls how it affected registered voters and other ACORN members. "They were dumbfounded and shocked," he says. It caused some members to doubt the group's integrity, while other residents, he says, "just feared to vote." He adds, "A lot of people said they don't think ACORN is powerful enough to protect them -- I'm not going to fool with the federal government."
That anonymous mailer followed a spate of public attacks, ads, and mailers by the Goolsby campaign -- and even a letter to the local district attorney by the county Republican chairman -- all accusing Miller of engaging in voter fraud during her first campaign against Goolsby in 2004. The Republican smears, now the subject of a pending defamation lawsuit aimed at Goolsby and other local Republicans, also claimed she had illegally "retained the services of ACORN," while tarring the organization with flimsy claims that it deliberately engaged in voter fraud.
The district attorney never responded to the Dallas GOP's allegations, but the local CBS affiliate, CBS 11 News, jumped on the story to ballyhoo the bogus charges filed by Republican County Chairman Kenn George with the D.A.
The real fraud involved George's inflammatory letter to the prosecutor, which blatantly misrepresented election returns from 2004 in order to file the false voter fraud complaint against Miller. The letter claimed that as a Democrat running for a state House seat, she suspiciously won more votes than the Democratic candidate for Congress in black districts, when, in fact, there was no Democratic congressional candidate opposing the Republican, just an obscure independent.

Corruption and Politicization at the Department of Justice
In the wake of the scandal opened up with inquiries into the firing of David Iglesias, which eventually cost Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez his job, the full scale of the politicization and corruption at the Department of Justice came into view.

Congressional oversight hearings examined the Department's role in voter suppression activities, including allegations of voter fraud, voter caging, and voter intimidation. Representative John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, has tackled the voter caging issue and has started hearings on this and related issues through his Committee and its various sub-committees.

Hearings held recently in front of one of those House Judiciary subcommittees revealed how the Department, through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, "failed to investigate illegal mailers sent to African-Americans in Dallas" that threatened criminal punishments if they registered to vote through ACORN in the run-up to a 2006 Congressional election, Levine wrote.

"The FBI's decision not to investigate, critics say, is the latest sign that politicization appears to have compromised the nominally non-partisan law enforcement agency," Levine wrote. "That intimidation is a violation of the Voting Rights Act," said "former 21-year veteran of the Civil Rights Division" and election law expert, Gerry Hebert. Levine further notes that "President Bush's Justice Department hasn't brought a single prosecution or lawsuit in more than seven years on behalf of any African-American voters who faced direct voter intimidation threats and challenges - despite receiving, by some estimates, roughly 12,000 criminal civil rights complaints of all kinds annually." But the VRA is not the only federal law the Department failed to enforce as partisan political operatives such as Hans von Spakovsky took over key parts of the Department's voting rights enforcement apparatus.

"Meanwhile, the Justice Department's Voting Section has not enforced other federal laws, such as the requirement that state welfare offices offer public aid recipients a chance to register to vote," wrote Steve Rosenfeld in the Fall 2007 issue of Social Policy, referring to Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act. Instead, the Department has had a heavy hand at pushing detrimental voter purges, a procedure loosely mandated by another NVRA section. At a House hearing on equal enforcement of NVRA Tuesday, Project Vote deputy director, Michael Slater testified that "All Americans deserve an equal opportunity to register to vote and participate in our democracy...Many states, however, are undermining that promise and furthering inequalities."

Levine recounted the number of voters disenfranchised as a result of these purges and voter caging policies:

"In Ohio in 2006, 303,000 voters were purged in three major urban counties, while the Brennan Center reported that Pennsylvania's rigid database rules, later loosened, had excluded up to 30 percent of eligible registrants. Karl Rove aide Tim Griffin played a major role in state GOP voter 'caging' operations (that is, challenging the eligibility of registered voters) in such states as Ohio and Florida. These schemes, Project Vote reports, challenged the right of 77,000 mostly minority voters to cast ballots between 2004 and 2006, under the pretext that non-forwardable letters sent by GOP activists to their addresses were returned as undelivered."

The Myth of Voter Fraud and Voter Disenfranchisement Through Voter ID Laws
The Department has been complicit in partisan accusations of widespread voter fraud used as a pretext to legalize voter suppression tactics, especially voter identification laws. "Yet voter fraud, in fact, is so rare that even an intensive, four-year anti-fraud initiative by the Justice Department couldn't even find one person in the country to charge with impersonating another voter - out of nearly 215 million votes cast in federal elections," Levine wrote in the Huffington Post.

Despite this lack of evidence, hysterical accusations of "voter fraud" inspired nearly 30 states to consider bills requiring photo identification or proof of citizenship requirements since 2004. The Department of Justice, again through the machinations of von Spakovsky, approved one of the worst instances of these laws in Georgia, which was subsequently overturned by the courts. A slightly less draconian version of the law is now in effect. However, the worst version of these laws went into effect in Indiana, where it was promptly challenged. Upheld by a Federal appeals court, the law is now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court, which seems to be considering dubious claims of voter fraud as reason enough to keep the law on the books.

"Alarmingly, the insubstantiality of the claims of pervasive voter fraud may not deter the U.S. Supreme Court from upholding Indiana's restrictive voter-ID law -- which, according to a new University of Washington study, could disenfranchise the more than 20 percent of the state's African American voters who lack the ID required by Indiana's law," Levine wrote.

The most alarming aspect of this possible decision is its ability to affect turnout in 2008. "Democrats seemingly haven't yet grasped the political importance of fighting these restrictive policies, though they could prove a major impediment to minority voting...," concludes Levine.

Action on Election Day Is Too Late
Both Levine and Rosenfeld expose these brazen, partisan attempts to shape the electorate and corrupt non-partisan governmental agencies by the targeting of civic participation programs, non-enforcement of voter protection laws, and steadfast determination to pursue voter fraud cases. Yet, the American public and some lawmakers appear to be none the wiser. "Looking toward the 2008 election, it appears the purges- as well as the new voter ID laws, restrictions on voter registration drives and stricter rules for counting provisional ballots - could be a new and legal way to accomplish a longstanding GOP electoral tactic Rosenfeld wrote, a tactic of shaping the electorate for partisan electoral advantage.

Project Vote tracks a range of legislation in 21 states related to voting rights and election administration. If you are concerned about what is happening in your state, you may go to ElectionLegislation.org to find out more information. Registration is required.

Quick Links:
Contact:
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
Weblinks:
DOJ Watch. Project Vote.
Reports:
The Politics of Voter Fraud. Lorraine Minnite.
Caging Democracy: A 50 Year History of Partisan Challenges to Minority Voters. Teresa James.
Unequal Access: Neglecting the National Voter Registration Act, 1995-2007. Douglas R. Hess and Scott Novakowski.
Congressional Hearings:
House Members Grill Justice Dept. Official Over NVRA Enforcement. Voting Matters Blog.
Whitehouse Tackles 'Nefarious' Voter Caging. No, not that White House. Voting Matters Blog.
Senators Spar over the Myth of Voter Fraud. Voting Matters Blog.

In Other News:

Voter Registration

Missouri registers fewer poor to vote - Kansas City Star

Felon Voting Rights

Political confusion: Removal letter confuses law-abiding voters - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer [Georgia]

House Approves Restoring Voting Rights For Some Felons - Associated Press

Voter ID

Strictness a sticking point in voter ID bill: Democrats urge a softer stance to avoid veto from gov. - The Hutchinson News [Kansas]

State legislators discuss voter id - WDAM-TV [Miss.]

Shows Persistent Electorate Bias In the Buckeye State

project vote — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 17:35:07 GMT

Ohio's electorate is not reflective of the state's voting eligible population, according to a new report by Project Vote. "Ohio Votes: Civic Engagement in the Buckeye State," written by Benjamin Spears, examines disparities in registration and voting rates by race/ethnicity, income and age.

Key findings from "Ohio Votes" include:
Key findings from "Ohio Votes" include:

+Ohio's population became more diverse from 2002 to 2006; in part because of a net decline in the White population and in part because the Latino and Asian populations grew by of 14 and 17 percent, respectively.
+A greater percentage of eligible White and Black Ohioans were registered in 2006 than in 2002.
Ohio's registration rate disparity between White and Black eligible voters was more pronounced in non-presidential elections, including 2002 and 2006.
+Ohioans were more likely to have voted in the 2006 election than were Americans as a whole.
=Older voters make up a larger share of the electorate than their share of the voting-eligible population merits: 4 of 5 Ohioans over age 30 were registered to vote; less than 3 of 5 Ohioans under 30 were registered.
+The disparity in voting rates between racial and ethnic groups in Ohio widened between 2002 and 2006.

"Ohio Votes" was cited in a news conference by Ohio ACORN, which is launching a voter registration drive. According to Ohio public radio:

ACORN Columbus Chair Donald Coulter says young adults, lower income citizens and people of color are underrepresented in Ohio's electorate.
"Only 66 percent of Ohioans earning less than $25,000 per year are registered to vote," Coulter says. "That is compared to 88 percent of Ohioans earning over $100,000 per year."
Coulter says that while 72 percent of white Ohioans are registered, only 65 percent of blacks are. He called the numbers "troubling disparities."

Ohio Votes's author, Benjamin Spears, said of the campaign, "ACORN is making an important contribution towards closing the registration gaps identified in Ohio Votes," said Spears. "Ohio Votes" continues Project Vote's work documenting disparities in the electorate. Earlier reports include "Who Votes in the Bluegrass State," also by Benjamin Spears, and "Representational Bias in the U.S. Electorate," by Doug R Hess.

Report Shows Kentucky's Persistent Electorate Bias After Highest Minority Turnout Ever

project vote — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:17:52 GMT

Project Vote released a report this week that shows persistent bias in the Kentucky electorate: those who were registered to vote and vote in the Bluegrass State were not representative of the state's overall eligible population in 2006. This report takes a state-level look at the same topic as a recently released Project Vote report by Doug Hess, Representational Bias in the 2006 Electorate.
On the characteristics of Kentucky's registered and voted population, Who Votes in the Bluegrass State's executive summary shows that:

*Kentucky's white population has a high percentage of its population eligible to vote relative to Blacks and non-whites (75 percent for the white population and 57 percent for the non-white population).
*Blacks gained ground in registration as a percent of their eligible voting population, from 47 percent 1998 to 68 percent in 2006).
*Once registered, Kentucky's Blacks vote at a rate equal to whites (68 percent or both groups in 2006).
*More than four out of five citizens aged 65 and over were registered in 2006 compared to less than 3 out of five citizens under 30.
*Just 33 percent of voting-eligible persons earning less than $25,000 in 2006 voted; 80 percent of persons earning more than $75,000 voted.

"Community organizations should take aim at the biases in Kentucky's electorate by engaging youth, low-income, and new Kentuckians, helping these groups make a greater impact at the ballot box," says Spears. For more information on Project Vote, visit the website and see the full Who Votes in the Bluegrass State report.

Census Mobility Data Highlights Need for Large-Scale Voter Registration in Communities of Color

project vote — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 20:19:27 GMT

The US Census Bureau released data this week on the millions of Americans who moved between 2005 and 2006. The Census tables highlight demographic characteristics, including sex, race and ethnicity, income, educational attainment and other qualities.

Considering that persons must re-register at every new address to be eligible to cast a ballot, the effect that mobility can have on the enfranchisement of millions of Americans is enormous.

Highlights of the Census Geographic Mobility 2005-2006 data include:

*Latinos had the highest moving rate (18 percent) of any race or ethnicity, followed by Blacks (17 percent), Asians (14 percent) and non-Hispanic whites (12 percent).
*Americans between age 25 and 34 had the highest moving rate (24 percent) of all age categories; persons over 65 had the lowest moving rate (4 percent).
*Lower-income persons were more likely to move than higher-earning counterparts; unemployed Americans were much more likely to move (24 percent did so) than those who were employed (14 percent moved).
*Renters were much more likely to move (30 percent) than Americans who owned their housing unit (7 percent).

Young, low-income, minority, and renting populations were much more likely to move than older, higher-income, white, and home-owning counterparts. Voter registration requirements, therefore, have a disproportionate impact on the traditionally disenfranchised, often urban poor.

These observations make it is especially clear that laws, such as Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act - which requires public assistance agencies to provide opportunities for clients to register to vote - must be strongly enforced. Further, in the absence of comprehensive pro-active registration programs at the county level, regular voter registration drives, such as those sponsored by Project Vote, should be conducted amongst those populations with high mobility rates. For more information, here is the full Census press release; to learn about Project Vote, see the website and Voting Matters blog.

Failing the Grade: Young People Face Strong Barriers at the Polls

project vote — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:54:42 GMT

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

By Erin Ferns

Young or college-age voters have been found to share similar characteristics with poor and minority voters: They vote Democratic and are underrepresented in the electorate. Their turnout rates are also "depressed by some simple but strong barriers." Such barriers - which are identical to those historically affecting poor and minority voters - include identification requirements; long lines at the polls; vote "challenges; and intimidation.
"Some of these problems can be resolved in time for the 2008 elections. But for others, it may already be too late," reported Ben Adler of The Politico.

Project Vote released a study Thursday that shows "young people, especially young minority males, were disproportionately underrepresented" in the 2006 midterm election. In reporting on the release, the New York Times' blog, The Caucus noted. "The 24-page analysis highlighted the poor turnout of youth voters - those ages 18 to 29 made up about 20 percent of the eligible voting population but only 10 percent of voters."

Young voters are "paying attention to the quickly approaching 2008 elections" as much as older voters, according to this Rock the Vote report. For example, "a survey from The Pew Research Center found that 38% of 18-29 year olds have watched candidate debates, about the same percentage as 30-49 year olds (36%) and 50-64 year olds (42%)."

So, if young voters are equally invested in politics as their older counterparts, why is it harder for them to turn out the vote?

Voter ID laws, which often require that the "voter's street address and voter registration match," are likely to disenfranchise students who have licenses that show their hometown addresses, Adler reported. "In Milwaukee County, 74 percent of African Americans and 66 percent of Hispanics aged 18-24 did not have a valid driver's license - the most common form of voter ID - according to a study by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

David Muhlhausen of the Heritage Foundation said voter ID laws do not disenfranchise young voters because those who do not obtain ID to vote would not have voted anyway. "People respond to incentives," he said. "They're going to get an ID because they want to buy a case of beer. It's a question of priorities." This tone-deaf approach to voting rights emulates that of Justice Department Voting Section chief, John Tanner, who recently admitted voter ID laws harm the elderly, but not minorities because they die earlier than whites, he said.

If the voter ID laws will not stop them, young voters face other barriers, such as difficult registration procedures, insufficient polling machines, and long lines. "On college campuses, where students arrive in September and may not register until the last minute, it can result in too few voting machines," Adler wrote. In 2004, students at Kenyon College in Ohio waited up to 13 hours to vote due to lack of machines. In 2006, University of Maryland students experienced similar ills: "Polling places had to remain open until 10 p.m. to accommodate all those in line - even though many races, including the gubernatorial election, had already been called." As a result, students are pushing Maryland state lawmakers to consider a state bill making more machines available on campus.

Fear of "political domination" by out-of-states students voting from campus played out in Maine this year "when Republican state lawmaker L. Gary Knight proposed legislation that would have made it illegal to register to vote using a dorm as one's primary address," thus requiring the majority of students to vote absentee. The bill was fought and defeated for putting "'an extra burden on one part of the community.'"

In general, mobility rates appear to be related to low voter turnout, particularly among youth, the poor and minorities. Just 55 percent of those residing for less than one year at their current address report being registered and only half of those voted. See this table on "Residency, Mobility, and Participation" from the new Project Vote report.

Voter deception is "another source of student disenfranchisement," Adler wrote, citing an instance in 2004 where a local district attorney reportedly told some students at "a historically black university near Houston," that they were ineligible to vote in the county.

Two presidential candidates "who might benefit from a high youth turnout - Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York - are pushing measures to eliminate voting barriers, including some that fall hardest on students." Obama's bill criminalizing intimidation practices has passed the full House and Senate Judiciary Committee. Clinton's "electoral reform package" would require states to mail registration forms to every 18-year-old and adopt Election Day Registration, "something both its supporters and opponents say increases youth voter turnout."

Although some defenders of institutional barriers, such as voter ID, argue that apathy is more likely the reason for low turnout rather than disenfranchisement, it is imperative for government officials and civic organizations to continue to expand access to voter registration, not inhibit it. The fact that such barriers and biases exist shows how politicians have reacted in the past to the potential voting power of young people. Governments should view bias in the electorate as a call to lower barriers to participation and embrace voter registration as an affirmative responsibility not as another opportunity to ensure eligible people never make it onto the rolls in the first place..

Quick Links:
Contact
Visit the websites of Sens. Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton for more information on their voter reform plans.
Click here for contact information of Sens. Obama and Clinton.
Reports
"Representational Bias in the 2006 Election." Project Vote. October 2007.
"Polling Young Voters, Volume VI." Rock the Vote. Sept. 2007.
Websites
National Campaign for Fair Elections at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Project Vote
Rock the Vote
Young Voter Strategies

In Other News:

National Public Radio's Pam Fessler interviews Brian Mellor, Project Vote Senior Counsel, for this story on allegations that "the Justice Department pursued a partisan effort to limit the number of voters, while ignoring measures designed to get more voters on the rolls." Read more of this NPR report here.

"Elections supervisors in five Florida counties have agreed to a preliminary settlement as part of a federal court challenge to a state law that prohibits people from registering to vote in some cases, a civil rights group said Monday." Read more of this Miami Herald story here.

Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote's Strategic Writing and Research Department(SWORD).