Calling voter registration "the lifeblood of our republic," Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, opened the committee's hearing this morning on current problems in America's voter registration system. A focus of the discussion was a new study produced by the Cooperative Congressional Election Survey-conducted by researchers at thirty universities across the country-that finds that up to three million voters actively tried to vote in 2008 but were denied, and an additional four million were discouraged from voting due to administrative barriers.
Cross-Posted at Project Vote's Voting Matter's Blog Weekly Voting Rights News Update
by Erin Ferns
Last week we wrote about how partisan-fueled voter fraud rumors are leading election reform debates, potentially changing the way many Americans vote in future elections. With at least one state swiftly moving a bill to require all voter applicants to present proof of citizenship before registering to vote, and another strongly supporting the passage of voter ID, the threat of voter disenfranchisement looms ahead.
(With so many other big, crisis-related issues staring us in the face, we should not lose sight of the crucial importance of protecting and enhancing voter rights, as this diary highlights the ever-growing threat. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
Nationwide, budget concerns seem to be rendering most of this year's threatening election reform proposals impassable. However, that does not prevent these measures from perpetuating the irrational distrust in elections (and voters) that come with restrictive voter ID and voter registration proposals. Instead of focusing on resolutions that would create more transparency in election administration without disenfranchising voters, lawmakers in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Mississippi and Texas made headlines for their battles to move voter ID laws last week, while two more states are discussing bills that would negatively impact young voters.
If you wanted to register to vote today, would you be able to provide a copy of a birth certificate, U.S. passport or naturalization papers? Would those documents reflect your current name?
As I've mentioned in a number of recent posts, I think that one of the most important projects for the progressive youth community in the 111th Congress is the passage of major voter registration reform legislation.
As I've written many times in the past, voter turnout is about access, not apathy. There are no numbers yet for 2008, but in 2004, 81.6% of all registered 18 - 29 year olds voted. The problem is not that young people register than forget or abstain from voting; the problem is that, due to a variety of factors, young people are registered in far fewer numbers than older portions of the electorate.
Today, the Millennial generation is in a position to push for broad policy changes - on energy and climate issues, education issues, and more - thanks in large part to the massive youth turnout and their key role in electing President Obama. Retaining that power beyond one congressional session or Presidential term will require a repeat performance at the polls year in and year out. Reforming our voter registration laws and removing so many of the barriers that keep young Americans registered at low rates is key to solidifying this newfound political power. So I'm super excited to report that a coalition seems to be forming to push forward Voter Registration Modernization legislation during the current Congress.
The 2008 presidential election was an inspiration for many citizens to take part in the American democratic process, including first-time voter and convicted felon Eric Stephen Willems of Minnesota. Unfortunately, that vote cost Willems, who was on probation, a trip back to jail, according to the Associated Press last week.
Final election results from the 2008 presidential election reveal that voter turnout was at the "highest level in 40 years." However, the biggest gain cannot just be seen in overall turnout. As Project Vote assessed in a recent report on 2008 voter demographics - now confirmed by other sources - the biggest gain was among minority and young voters. This success signifies a shift towards a more balanced electorate, and may herald election reforms to expand early voting and voter registration opportunities.
Recent analyses of the 2008 general election find that overall participation increased on November 4, with a significant surge in voter participation among historically underrepresented Americans. Yet, while some lawmakers have been inspired by the recent voter turnout to propose election reforms that expand access to voting rights, others continue to focus on creating additional barriers to voting.
(In confluence with Chris's thesis about the growing demographic Democratic base, here's the latest from Project Vote. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
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.
Following the historic 2008 election and the plethora of problems with voter registrations - from partisan cries of voter fraud by third party registration drives to voter suppression from bad list maintenance procedures - syndicated columnist Robyn Blumner offers a solution: Universal Voter Registration.
Drametra Brown grew up in Indianapolis, attended Broad Ripple High School, and spent most of her life in the city. Now 37 and a certified nursing assistant, Drametra works with senior citizens at Alpha Home, an Indianapolis nursing home. Drametra had never voted before, but this year was different, and when a fellow staff member and good Samaritan Lisa Hamilton, Alpha Home's Admissions Director, handed out blank registration forms she had in her office to sign up elderly residents in late September, Drametra and other employees signed up as well.
Earlier this week John Oliver, a correspondent for the Daily Show, interviewed me for a story on community organizing and community organizers. The piece aired last night.
I think it did a good job showing the absurdity of the claims from the Right about organizing and organizers, especially as pushed by hackmeisters like Matthew Vadum, who was also in the segment.
For the record, I would never sell used cars. Take public transit, people!
In the last two weeks voter registration and early voting has shown that voters are geared up and ready to take part in what has been called a "historical event" on November 4.
As promised earlier, I'm focusing on the way voter files are used during the runup to an election. Last week we covered early voting; this week, it's time to focus on new registrants. Follow me to the magical land of beneath the fold...
(It's "voter fraud" fraud Saturday here at Open Left, and I'm quite pleased to promote this diary from Project Vote, which covers a lot of the key facts, so that I can freely build out from them in some diaries to come. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
Scaling the Mountains and Molehills of the "Voter Registration Fraud" Controversy
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns and Michael McDunnah
With a constant barrage of allegations against ACORN and other voter registration organizations coming from the McCain-Palin campaign and the Republican National Committee in recent weeks, it's worthwhile to take a look back at this ongoing war between partisan forces on the right and community based voter registration drives-a war that has largely been fought in the media and nowhere else, and which has threatened to drown out real issues in these crucial weeks before the election.
As you may have seen, the Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Secretary of State no longer has to match newly-registered voters against other government databases before allowing them to vote. This is a major win for Democrats (who registered the vast bulk of new voters in Ohio this year, thanks to their record-breaking ground game) and for people who care about voting rights. The first one should be obvious, but let me explain the second.
Keeping track of all the recent Conservative attacks on poor people and their "lobby" (ACORN) is getting to be a bit of a task.
The latest "outrage du jour" involves these (oh so obviously fake) voter registration forms that a few idiots (?) decided to turn in.
A few things to consider here.....
Cross-posted from Future Majority - a blog about progressive youth politics.
Last week we hit back at ABC and John Stossel pretty hard over their willful misrepresentations of the youth vote as "too dumb to vote." Today, over at the Rock the Vote blog, Kat Barr has an excellent piece posted about another youth vote meme that is taking hold in the media: young people register in droves, but then fail to vote.
Like so many other media narratives about the youth vote, this just isn't true. Here's what Kat has to say:
Earlier this week, my diary "Ayers Attack 'Ridiculous,' 'Nonsensical,' 'Silly'--Former GOP IL State Rep" highlighted an NPR story debunking the notion that William Ayers was some sort of sinister figure when Barack Obama first crossed paths with him politically. This morning, my previous diary, "The Discourse of 'Terrorism' - Thinking The Unthinkable", cut more deeply, questioning even the notion of casually labelling Ayers a "domestic terrorist" and the larger framework of "terrorist" discourse behind such labelling. I now want to take a similarly broad look at how ACORN and Ayers are both being used in building a demonizing narrative against Obama, which we should expect to be used to try to delegitimize him, just as the GOP worked feverishly to delegitimize Bill Clinton in the 1990s. I had hoped to do it in a single diary, but that's not really possible, so here's the first installment.
