Open Left - youth

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.

Young, Green, And Out of Work

Billy Parish — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:02:14 GMT

by Rinku Sen & Billy Parish

Last week, the Labor Department reported that youth unemployment stands at 18.2%, nearly twice the national average of 9.8%. The percentage of young people without a job is a staggering 53.4 percent, the highest figure since World War II. Looking deeper, the statistics for youth of color are terrible and telling.

According to the most recent data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 40.7% of black youth between 16-19 are unemployed, almost double the amount of whites teenagers (23%). For Latinos the same age, the rate is nearly 30%. Get a little older and the gap grows wider. Unemployment for black Americans aged 20-24 is 27.1%, over twice that faced by white youth (13.1%) in the same age range.

The glaring differences indicate that unemployment is not only decidedly raced, but also that the current economic condition is wholly unforgiving for young people of color. Only a massive, well-funded set of green jobs programs explicitly designed to close those racial gaps can create a truly vital, full-employment economy.

Without more opportunities for young people, those un- and under-employed will suffer in the short and long-term, especially in their ability to attend college, afford health insurance, buy homes, and save for retirement. In short, they won't be able to make a living. The great promise of the green economy to end poverty as well as environmental suffering can only be fulfilled if we’re prepared to fight, not just for green, but also for racial and economic equity.

There’s a long history of clashes between environmentalists, workers’ organizations and racial justice movements, as each operated on the assumption that they had conflicting goals. Yet, the objectives of all three are interdependent for two big reasons. First, poor economies and environmental degradation have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. People of color occupy jobs in the most hazardous industries and homes in the most environmentally degraded neighborhoods. That’s not accidental. It is a predictable result of persistent segregation, which strips communities of color of their power, facilitating the discriminatory placement of toxic incinerators, power plants, factories, and other big polluters in their communities.

While economics has contributed to the dual degradation of the environment and communities of color, racism has accelerated environmental and economic problems. “White flight” from inner cities fueled suburban sprawl, leading to more driving, more highways, and more carbon in the atmosphere. And in industries like agriculture and food production, with prominent racial hierarchies, employers find it easy to generate competition and scapegoating between various groups of workers, killing unionization drives that could produce better wages and conditions for all of us.

Luckily, a growing number of people know better than to separate environmental and economic recovery from race. Local groups have started green jobs programs for young people that are inclusive and future-oriented. In Oakland, California, for example, the brand new Green Media Youth Center boasts a green job training program that can help create pathways out of poverty for young people in the city. Last Friday at the Center, Milani Pelley recorded her latest song in a brand new studio. Jhamel Robinson showed off the permaculture garden behind the building. And the list goes on.

But great programs here and there aren’t enough. We need to bring those programs to scale, and create both training and the actual jobs through federal, state and local policy. We need to spend real money funding job creation, and then closely monitor implementation to make sure new programs generate local hiring, affirmative action, great wages and benefits and long term career paths, among other elements that will make them work.

This year, a national alliance of organized labor and civil rights, social justice and environmental groups has worked to create a vibrant clean energy economy that can not only improve the environment and economy, but also close the racial gap. In the House version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), this alliance secured the eleventh-hour addition of a billion dollars for green jobs training, as well as equity provisions for access to the jobs created. The Senate version released last week maintains those provisions.

These policies are a good start, but if they’re to survive and lead us to the additional billions and effective implementation that we need to get control of unemployment, we have to be prepared to fight on the race front, as well as the green. All signs indicate that opponents will bait American racism with brutal inventiveness. If the right’s attack on Van Jones isn’t enough of a warning, then we should take our lessons from the health care debate. We can expect conservative pundits to call equity guidelines reverse racism, or to put up immigrants rather than corporate pollution as the true cause of environmental collapse.

To counter that rhetoric, we need to be able to articulate more than a “lift all boats” approach – which improves things but leaves the racial and poverty gaps in place. We need to move support for a “fix all boats” approach that ensures full recovery for all. It’s our responsibility to change the rules and structures that threaten to exclude people of color from taking part in the new, green economy.

Young people are going to have to take the lead in this because they’ve got the most at stake. The decisions we make as a country now will affect them far longer than anyone else. The powers that be like to call these Millennials the first "post racial generation." They claim that young people take racial equality so much for granted that fighting racism is low on their list of priorities. The polluters of the gray economy will take that idea straight to the bank, unless young people themselves make it clear that they understand racism shows up in all our issues, including the environment.

We should amplify and grow efforts to build an inclusive green economy. In doing so, we must always ask two key questions about new policies and programs: is it green, and is it fair?

Rinku Sen is the Executive Director of the Applied Research Center, which promotes racial justice through media, research, and activism. Billy Parish is the founder of the Energy Action Coalition, a national youth clean energy coalition.

This entry is cross-posted at The Huffington Post.

CA Measure to Improve Youth Voter Engagement Goes to Governor

project vote — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Cross-posted to Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

The California Legislature approved a bill last week to extend voter registration privileges to 17-year-old citizens. If signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the bill would help put California youth on the road to a lifetime of democratic participation.
Nearly half of all eligible voters under age 30 nationwide were not registered to vote in 2008. Assembly Bill 30 extends voter registration opportunities to all 17-year-olds, not just those who will be 18 by the next election, as current California law allows. This change would "make implementation of preregistration more efficient and streamlined, and should lead to less confusion," wrote Elizabeth Wu of the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy group, in a press release Tuesday. AB 30 would more effectively reach young people in high school civics classes and voter registration drives, and ultimately get them on the rolls in advance of turning the legal voting age of 18.

Voter registration is "one of the largest barriers to voting," said Steven Hill, director of the foundation's Political Reform Program, because "citizens often become energized by candidates or issue campaigns in the last weeks of an election only to find they are not registered to vote." The idea of allowing young people to register in advance not only has them ready to participate upon turning 18, but it also instills civic duty at an early age.

"Research has demonstrated that developing good 'political engagement' habits at a younger age will increase the likelihood of civic participation as an adult," said Hill. "AB 30 will help break the 'disengagement cycle' that often prevents young people from developing habits of participation that carry over into their adult years."

While several states like California already permit certain 17-year-old citizens to preregister to vote, only five extend the opportunity to all 16 or 17-year-olds. States with laws similar to the pending AB 30 include Louisiana and Oregon. Preregistration is also extended to citizens as young as 16 in states like Hawaii, Florida, and most recently, North Carolina, which passed House Bill 908 into law last month.

Rhode Island also passed a preregistration bill earlier this summer, only to be vetoed by Governor Donald Carcieri. However, FairVote - a voting rights group that has long championed preregistration in the state - hopes that with the "huge majorities in favor of the bill in both the RI House and Senate this year," the General Assembly will override the governor's veto, according to a July blog entry. Proving to be a popular year for preregistration, a similar measure was adopted by the Michigan House. The pending HB 4261 awaits a hearing in the Senate Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight.

To monitor the California and Michigan bills, visit www.ElectionLegislation.org.

Morning No: No Pigs In Heaven

Natasha Chart — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:00:00 GMT

- The AFL-CIO lays out the what's what on the economic situation for 18-35 year olds. Main takeaways: more of them are unemployed, fewer of them can afford to build savings or get health coverage, they're deferring education or planning for a family because of the expense, and just over a third of them are living with their parents.

- In what's likely the best news coming out of Afghanistan of late, opium profits have declined, so fewer farmers are growing it.

- Droughts are driving Kenyan farmers off their land and into slums.

- Droughts, plus debt caused the expense of paying for synthetic inputs and patented, genetically engineered seeds, are driving growing numbers of Indian farmers to suicide.

- Executives at the banks we all bailed out are going to get stock option windfalls this year.

- Obama urges the public to take steps to avoid catching the flu, particularly due to concerns about the new H1N1 swine flu. Seriously, wash your hands.

- In product quality, and it can sometimes be a good thing, there's always room at the bottom.

- If we want to keep our democracy, we need to have a functional social compact that treats all Americans as deserving.

Online Voter Registration Reaches Some Citizens, but Won't Close the Electoral Gap

project vote — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog.

Access to voter registration continues to be an issue in the U.S. where only 71 percent of the voting eligible population is registered to vote. With young, low income, and minority citizens lagging behind in voter registration and participation, this fraction of registered voters only represents a skewed picture of the American people.
In an effort to make voter registration more accessible, several states have joined Arizona and Washington this year by passing laws to provide certain citizens the convenience of registering to vote with the click of a mouse. Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Oregon, and Utah are among the states that recently enacted such laws while Kansas has just made voter registration accessible online to eligible citizens in the state, according to the Associated Press. However, a new memo by Project Vote consultants Jody Herman and Doug Hess finds that, while online voter registration is a "welcome new convenience," its impact will most likely be limited in reducing the tremendous demographic disparities that currently exist in the electorate.

Using Nielsan and Census data, the report examines the limitations - and benefits - of online voter registration by describing the U.S. households that do not have internet access and comparing the findings to voter registration rates in those households based on race/ethnicity, age, educational attainment, and income.

"In most cases, the demographic groups that are already less likely to be registered are also the least likely to have internet access in the home," Herman wrote. Among these groups are low income citizens, those without high school degrees, and Latinos, rendering online voter registration less effective for the very people who need access to the electoral process most. According to the memo:

• Low income households are not only less likely to have internet access (41%), they are also least likely to be registered to vote, compared to other income brackets (65%).
• Educational attainment appears to have an affect on access to both voter registration and internet. Just 36% percent of those without high school diploma have internet access - 41 percentage points lower than the national average. Similarly, this group registers to vote at a rate that is 21 percentage points lower than the national average (50%).
• Black and Latino households are less likely to have access to the internet, with only 63% of households in each group. However, Latinos are disproportionately underrepresented in the electorate, registering at 12 percentage points lower than the national average.

"An additional problem is that online voter registration systems that require an online registrant to have an existing signature in a state database-such as in a driver's license database and/or state voter registration database-will further limit the accessibility of an online voter registration system to disadvantaged groups," according to the report. (A 2007 study on voter ID accessibility in Indiana exemplifies this issue, as voters with only high school education, as well as low-income and minority citizens, were found to be less likely to posses identification required, in this case, to vote.)

While online registration seems to disproportionately reach mostly those who are already overrepresented in the electorate, it may open doors for one group that is notoriously plagued with voter access and participation issues: Youth. Citizens ages 18 to 34 register to vote at a rate of 10 percentage points behind the electorate as a whole. However, young people are most likely to have internet access, with 88 percent of younger households connected to the Web. This may prove beneficial in incorporating America's future decision makers in the electorate.

Celebrate Democracy by Including America's Future

project vote — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:00:00 GMT

Cross-posted at Project Vote's Voting Matters Blog

By Ari Savitsky and Erin Ferns

As we celebrate America's independence and the birth of its democracy this weekend, some states are moving toward enfranchising its future voters. A growing legislative trend following the jump in youth voter participation in the 2008 presidential election, preregistration allows soon-to-be voters to take full advantage of registration opportunities when they get their driver's licenses, fosters civic engagement in the classroom, and catalyzes lifelong participation in democracy.
This week, two states have taken steps to allow 16- and 17-year-old citizens to register to vote before being automatically enrolled as legal voters at 18, with one Rhode Island bill going to the governor and another California bill being scheduled for a July 7 Senate hearing. In the spirit of democracy, the following are some points to consider for anyone (including R.I. Governor Donald Carcieri and California's Senate Committee on Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments) that supports fostering a civically engaged generation of future voters.

• The Registration Gap: Once registered, young people turn out and vote at rates similar to the general population. So why is overall youth turnout historically lower? The "key difference," in the words of the U.S. Census bureau, is registration. During the 2004 election, more than 70% of Californians over the age of 25 were registered to vote, compared to fewer than 55% of Californians between 18 and 25 years old. Pre-registration addresses the registration gap by creating access to registration opportunities.
• Voting is a Habit: Past participation is a major factor in determining future participation; as important as education, parental voting patterns, or income. Once you vote, it's hard to stop. That makes the first election in which a young person is eligible to vote extremely important. When young people are registered, they will likely vote as soon as they become eligible and begin a lifetime of engagement.
• Best Practices for Democracy: 16 and 17 year olds are driving, working and paying taxes on part-time jobs. We know that getting young people engaged in civic life is incredibly important. But current registration practices make engagement less effective. Pre-registration would allow more young people to get registered when they get their driver's license, or allow a student in a civics class to take the first step to participation.
• Broad, Bi-Partisan Support: Hawaii, Florida, and Puerto Rico allow 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote. Other states, like Oregon and Maine, allow pre-registration for 17-year-olds. Many more are on their way to enactment. Members of both parties have been strong advocates of pre-registration. In Florida, County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson, a Republican, helped lead the charge for reform because, "most teens consider a driver's license their first - and most exciting - step to freedom. I [wanted] to make it easier for them to take another exciting step toward freedom by pre-registering to vote as they get their driver's license."

Pre-registration is be relatively easy to administer. Voter registration programs at the Department of Motor Vehicles, utilizing the voter registration mechanisms already in place, can simply be extended to include anyone over 16, actually simplifying the process by eliminating a currently non-uniform age requirement.. Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds who pre-register will simply remain "pending" until they reach the age of 18. But while such a change is logistically simple, for a young voter-to-be, taking early action in preparation for their first election as an eligible voter is of profound importance, encouraging pride in California's and America's democratic tradition, and instilling that tradition in the hearts of a new generation of Californians.

Finding a Fair Solution for Youth Offenders

The Opportunity Agenda — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:59:27 GMT

What certitude do we have as a nation that sees no opportunity for the light of goodness to shine on even the most stone covered seed? This question comes to mind amidst the recent decision by the Supreme Court to hear two cases on the sentencing of youth to life in prison without parole.

For more than 2,500 incarcerated youth in our country, our federal justice system and state courts around the country have left them shrouded in despair, sentencing them to life without any chance for ever seeing light beyond the pale concrete confines of prison. There actions, indeed, deserve retribution. However, the complexity of adolescents makes it difficult to see any good in a sentence that denies a young person any opportunity for rehabilitation.
The National Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth does a good job of examining more closely the intricate details that encompass this issue that is clearly expected to gain more attention as the Supreme Court moves to hear the cases. Anyone looking to learn more about the subject should visit their web site.

Looking at it from a more broad vantage, George Bernard Shaw once said that youth is wasted on the young. Yet this philosopher, I believe , has forgotten the trials of adolescence. Part of the learning experience and psychological development is grounded in the experiences we make. For those in prison, their experiences are rooted in the mistakes and bad decisions they made. And in their actions, there is the underlying principle of rehabilitation that should not be ignored.

Every person deserves the opportunity to have a second chance. anyone who remembers their own adolescents remembers the compassion that family, friends and teachers offered when we made our own mistakes. The corrections system serves an important role in our society, believing that bad behavior has a chance to be corrected. I'm not saying that all behavior can be corrected. there are those who truly are unable to be rehabilitated. Though not giving them the chance to have this opportunity to be rehabilitated throws even heavier stones on the seed that took root in rocky ground.

Read more on The Opportunity Agenda's blog.

Green Jobs for America's Youth - 100 Days of Progress

Billy Parish — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:37:41 GMT

100 days ago, President Barack Obama took the oath of office with an overwhelming mandate from America’s youth. Two out of every three citizens under the age of 30 voted for Obama in the 2008 election. We demanded change and Obama promised it. We demanded green jobs, strong climate policy, a safer and more prosperous future, and we came 12,000 strong to DC to make sure he and his administration heard us.

The demand to get involved building a greener, more sustainable future is there, but the supply of opportunities has not been. Over the last eight years, we’ve missed countless chances to invest in a clean energy economy, in science and engineering, and in green jobs for America’s youth. But things have begun to change. There are at least three major signs of progress to report on this front in just the first 100 days of President Obama’s administration:

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, which will create millions of new jobs and fund programs like the recently launched Youth Conservation Corps that will put 15,000 young people to work “resurrecting the treasures of America”
The creation of a Clean Energy Service Corps as part of the Serve America Act that will engage tens of thousands of youth in moving America towards energy independence
A new national energy education initiative announced yesterday that will inspire and train young Americans “to tackle the single most important challenge of their generation — the need to develop cheap, abundant, clean energy and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.” Among it’s many aims, this initiative will:

Invest $777 million in 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers to address the fundamental scientific roadblocks to clean energy and energy security
Establish a $5 billion “Race To The Top” fund to encourage states to improve the quality and supply of math and science teachers
Launch RE-ENERGYSE (REgaining our ENERGY Science and Engineering Edge) to empower young men and women to invent and commercialize advanced energy technologies

These are huge accomplishments. The supply is beginning to meet demand, but we still have a long way to go. There remains tremendous untapped desire among young people for green jobs and green opportunities - see a recent LA Times article on the surging demand for clean energy careers or Bob Herbert’s powerful op-ed last June about the 4 million “disconnected youth,” 16 to 24, “who are not in school and basically have no hope of finding work”.

President Obama knows that “energy is this generation’s great project” and as long as there is demand for more jobs researching geothermal technology, installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, and conserving our natural resources, we need to increase the supply of opportunities.

There is no “silver bullet.” As Bill McKibben likes to say, we need “silver buckshot”. We need to marshall all the human potential in this great country to address these challenges. I applaud President Obama on an extremely successful 100 days, but I ask for more. The young people of America are ready and willing to serve. Let’s give them the opportunity.

This entry is cross-posted at It's Getting Hot In Here.

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."

Measures to Expand and Balance U.S. Electorate Gain Traction in State Legislatures

project vote — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:00:00 GMT

by Erin Ferns and Donald Wine II

For the past few years, there has been a push by voting rights advocates to expand and balance the electorate in the United States. Finally, measures to help enfranchise some of the nation's least represented Americans are moving forward in several states. This past week, five states advanced bills to restore the voting rights of citizens convicted of felonies, while four states moved bills designed to facilitate voter participation among young citizens. This trend in election reform is a step in the right direction, which more states should take notice of and consider in the near future.
Voting Rights Restoration

Today, 48 states disenfranchise convicted felons at some point during incarceration, probation, or parole, resulting in the loss of voting rights for about 5.3 million Americans, according to research and advocacy group the Sentencing Project. "This fundamental obstacle to participation in democratic life is exacerbated by racial disparities in the criminal justice system, resulting in an estimated 13% of Black men unable to vote," the group reports. The inconsistency of felony re-enfranchisement policies among the 50 states creates confusion, not only among former offenders who wish to regain the right to vote, but also the very officials charged with implementing the laws.

Lawmakers in Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington each moved bills last week to restore the voting rights of former felons.. Notably, a Washington bill restoring the voting rights of felons "after they're released from state custody, including the completion of any parole or probation" was recently approved by the House, according to an Associated Press report.

"Supporters of the bill - all Democrats - said the state's present system amounts to a poll tax because people who have turned their lives around but can't afford to pay court fines are kept from voting," as current law requires all court-ordered fines to be paid before restoring voting rights, the AP reports. "Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, said the measure also would help state elections officials by clearing up a gray area: Under current law, it is difficult to determine whether a felon who is no longer in state custody has legally restored his voting rights."

The Washington bill is a small step closer to voting rights advocates' goal of automatic post-incarceration restoration of rights, whereby citizens who are released from prison would be immediately eligible to vote while on probation and parole. "These citizens would be permitted to register in precisely the same way as other eligible citizens, without submission of special paperwork," according to a 2008 report by Erika Wood of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.

"Restoring the right to vote to ex-offenders is an integral aspect of reintegration into society," according to a 2007 Project Vote report, which notes a disproportionate over-representation of low-income and minority citizens in the criminal justice system. "Consistent policies are necessary to prevent large-scale disenfranchisement not only of the ex-offenders themselves, but also of the communities to which they belong. Society as a whole benefits when a representative government truly represents all its citizens."

The actions taken by these states to facilitate the restoration of the voting rights of former felons upon release from prison is one that should be duplicated by the other states that do not currently offer automatic restoration of rights upon release from incarceration. A truly representative electorate is one that allows everyone to partake in the process. Allowing former felons to register to vote upon the end of their prison terms will finally empower a segment of the U.S. population that has been underrepresented for years.

Youth Voter Participation Update

Last week, Project Vote blogged on progressing election reforms that focus on mobilizing young citizens outside of the college campus - primarily high school students and young minorities who make up a large portion of the untapped youth voting group. With the introduction of numerous bills to lower the voter registration age, incorporate civic engagement in the high school curriculum, and provide voter registration opportunities this year, a few have been gaining serious momentum in the last week.

Most notably, Rhode Island may join the majority of states in allowing 16 and 17 year olds to preregister to vote with the passage of HB 5005 from the House. Among three states to introduce such bills this year, Rhode Island is the only one to pass its preregistration bill after a hearing last week. Also noteworthy, bills focusing on voter registration on high school campuses in New Jersey (AB 2752/S 254) and Kentucky (HB 155) - both adopted by the houses- have advanced in the senates.

Youth voter advocates argue that citizens who become politically engaged at a young age become lifelong voters, bringing more people into the voting process at an earlier age and maintaining that involvement throughout their adult years. These progressing bills would help young facilitate and institutionalize voter engagement by making it a part of the school curriculum and permitting younger citizens to take steps towards becoming part of the democratic process through preregistration. Allowing youths to preregister when they are 16 or 17-say, in conjunction with receiving their drivers' licenses-would also move us one more step towards universal voter registration, as youths would learn the process of registration and will know how to keep their registration current as they move on to college or move out of their childhood homes into adulthood.

With an estimated 52 percent of the youth electorate turning out to vote last year, there is still room to grow. As we reported last week, "The youth electorate continues to lag behind the general electorate, a problem that only perpetuates the representational bias in our democracy. The real issue of voter access should be a focal point for lawmakers and advocates who want to encourage all young citizens, beyond the college campus, to let their voices be heard."

Whether discussing automatic restoration of voting rights or lowering of the voting age, one theme remains the same: voting rights should be accessible and consistent for all citizens. With more than five million citizens losing voting rights due to felony convictions and 25 million voting eligible "college age" 18-24 year old citizens missing out on voter registration opportunities that are too focused on college campuses, a huge chunk of the eligible voting population is being left out of the electoral process. As these bills indicate, it is time for states to finally take action in creating a more balanced, participatory electorate.

To monitor youth voting legislation, visit www.electionlegislation.org or subscribe to the weekly Election Legislation digest, featuring election bills in all 50 states, by emailing Erin Ferns at eferns [at] projectvote.org.

Legislative Efforts to Engage High School Students Move Quietly Forward

project vote — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 01:31:45 GMT

by Erin Ferns

With an estimated 23 million 18-29 year old citizens turning out to vote in the 2008 presidential election, it is easy to assume that young people today have overcome the stereotypical image of "apathetic youth." Yet, while the last few election cycles show an ever-growing interest in political engagement, young people are still underrepresented in the U.S. electorate-a problem that seems to have more to do with lack of access than lack of interest.
According to nonpartisan research group CIRCLE, an estimated 52 percent of 18-29 year olds voted in November 2008. While that shows a four percentage point increase in turnout since 2004, young people still turned out at least five percentage points below the national average. Furthermore, the youth electorate itself disproportionately represents educated, White citizens. While the youth electorate in 2006 was more diverse that the general electorate--a trend that estimates say continued in 2008-the highest registration and voting rates were among White youth. This gap reflects the existing disproportions on American college campuses, which are still the focus of most youth-focused voter registration programs.

The American youth's under-representation in the general electorate, coupled with the disproportionate representation within the youth electorate itself, suggests a need to make voting more accessible for all of today's youth, not just the college students. Unfortunately, constructive reforms that would improve the administration of elections have been overshadowed by the economic crises in all but a few state legislatures where lawmakers are quietly moving bills that would help engage the future of America. Here are a few of the youth-targeted voting reforms that are focused on engaging young people beyond the college campus.

Lowering the Voting Age

Youth voter advocates argue that citizens who become politically engaged at a young age become lifelong voters. With that, some states have considered expanding access to the democratic process by extending voting rights to citizens younger than 18.

The most common trend in youth-targeted legislation is to provide primary voting rights for certain 17-year-old citizens. This year, nine states introduced bills that would allow 17-year-olds to cast ballots in primaries if they will be 18 by the following general elections. At this time, only Rhode Island's H 5005 appears to be gaining traction in the legislature. Currently, eight states allow 17-year-olds to vote in primaries. One additional state, Connecticut, is moving towards implementing last year's amendment to the state constitution providing primary voting rights to citizens under age 18 through House Bill 6439.

This year, only two states, Arizona and Minnesota, looked beyond primary voting and proposed to extend full voting rights to 16-year-old citizens. In neither state do the bills appear viable. To date, no states permit 16-year-olds to vote in any election.

Civic Engagement

Several states proposed legislation to help engage young voters by instilling the value of democracy through education and incorporation in the democratic process, including voter education classes on high school campuses and student poll worker programs.

This year two states have proposed to incorporate education on the voting process in the high school curriculum. Kentucky House Bill 155 is active in the legislature, passing the House and appearing to rapidly gain approval from the Senate. It is currently in the Senate Rules committee.

One state, Texas is considering a way to include high school students in the democratic process even if the students are still too young to actually vote. The bill, H 252, which allows qualified students who are at least 16 years old to serve as poll workers, has recently advanced in the House

Voter Registration Opportunities

Perhaps taking note of the largely successful youth voter turnout rates in the 2008 primary and presidential elections, lawmakers in at least five states are considering measures to further increase youth voter participation by providing voter registration opportunities on high school campuses.

A noteworthy bill, New Jersey's AB 2752, requires public and private schools to provide voter registration materials for eligible high school students prior to graduation. The bill was adopted by the assembly and is now in the Senate Elections committee.

Today, voter registration opportunities for young citizens is most commonly administered through preregistration with about half of the country already allowing 16 and 17 year-old citizens to preregister to vote. This year, just three more states are considering such measures. None of these bills have advanced since mid-February.

Recent trends in youth voter participation are enough to dismantle the apathy cliché, but not enough to dismiss constructive youth voting policies. Still, the youth electorate continues to lag behind the general electorate, a problem that only perpetuates its representational bias. The real issue of voter access should be a focal point for lawmakers and advocates who want to encourage all young citizens, beyond the college campus, to let their voices be heard.

All Cost, No Benefit: States Aim to Raise Voting Barriers to Prevent Rare Crime

project vote — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:45:07 GMT

Cross-Posted at Project Vote's Voting Matter's Blog

Weekly Voting Rights News Update

by Erin Ferns

As we predicted last December, legislation designed to prevent so-called voter fraud has dominated election law debates in several states this year. Last week alone, Georgia's controversial voter ID law was upheld by a federal appeals panel, the Texas Senate "sparked deep partisan tensions" by eliminating the majority rule in order to aid the passage of a voter ID law, and nine more states introduced numerous voter ID bills.
With several studies pointing to the potential disenfranchisement of certain communities, including already underrepresented elderly, young, minority and low income voters that disproportionately tend to not have photo ID, along with the fact that there is no significant evidence of polling-place voter impersonation anywhere in the country, this largely partisan debate appears to have only one cost - the right to vote - and no benefit.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, as many as 11 percent of U.S. citizens would not be able to the meet strict government issued photo ID mandates that five states currently enforce and several more are considering. Based on U.S. mobility figures, the number of Americans unable to present ID with current address is just as significant. According to U.S. Census data, between 2005 and 2006, 13 percent of Americans changed residence, an average that skyrockets when reviewing mobility among voting age youth and minorities. Whereas 21 million Americans would be unable to prove identity to meet these strict requirements, no one has been able to prove there is any real problem with voter impersonation at the polls

On Jan. 14, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the oft-challenged Georgia voter ID law, claiming that concerns of disenfranchising voters were simply "outweighed by the interests of Georgia in safeguarding the right to vote." However, the law's most recent challenger, the NAACP, "claims the state never proved a valid reason for the new requirements," according to the Associated Press. The group estimates that between 289,000 and 505,000 Georgians do not have a driver's licenses and "argued it was 'implausible' that all of them would have another form of approved ID."

Using a similar argument that voter ID was imperative to protect the "fundamental right to vote," Republicans have "sparked deep partisan tension in Texas" by moving to weaken filibuster rules with the ultimate purpose of advancing a voter ID bill, according to the Associated Press. The voter ID fight is nothing new to the state, which had "deadlocked on the issue two years ago."

Although Governor Rick Perry recently claimed that asking for voter ID "is not asking too much" in a Jan. 15 Fort Worth Star-Telegram report, he did not cite a reason why the state would need such a law in the first place. Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst claims protecting the right to vote while preventing voter fraud is key, saying that "at the end of the day, there is nothing more fundamental than the right to vote and the sanctity of one person, one vote." However, a recent investigation by the state Attorney General's office found 22 prosecutions for election-related crimes, none of which are cases of voter impersonation at the polls, the only crime a voter ID law would prevent, according to the Star-Telegram on Tuesday.

Therefore, "there is no reason to believe that there is a need for more onerous identification requirements to ensure election security," said Dustin Rynders, an attorney with Advocacy Inc, a group that represents people with disabilities.

Like Georgia and Texas - states that have yet to prove the necessity for voter ID - Mississippi Sen. David Jordan (D-Greenwood) concluded that the state had no "significant number of cases of fraud involving voter ID" after pressing Republican Elections Committee Chairman Terry Burton for examples of how voter ID could have prevented voter fraud.

Just as the evidence of voter fraud is lacking in the state, so is the concern for voters who would be affected by a voter ID requirement. Last week, the Mississippi Senate passed a voter ID bill, much to the disappointment of Republican officials who disapproved of an added provision exempting voters born before 1946 from the providing voter ID, according to the Associated Press. The provision, added by Sen. David Blount (D-Jackson), appeared to lessen opposition to the bill, lending to its passage.

''We need a law that respects our seniors, especially those who personally experienced having their constitutional right to vote denied,'' Blount said.

With Republican officials considering the exemption of elderly voters a "loophole," the bill has since been held on a motion to reconsider, "a move designed to get a stronger bill," according to the Desoto Times earlier this week.

A similar bill in the House also received criticisms by state Republican Chairman Brad White, who said it was "watered down" election reform that would "do nothing to enhance the security or integrity of our election system," according to another AP report.

Last week, nine states filed or introduced bills to require voters to present identification at the polls. To monitor these bills, visit www.ElectionLegislation.org (registration required).

Quick Links:
Voter ID Requirements Web Page. Project Vote.
Policy Brief on Voter Identification. Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. 2006.
Minnite, Lorraine. The Politics of Voter Fraud. Project Vote. March 2007.
Citizens Without Proof: A Survey of Americans' Possession of Documentary Proof of Citizenship and Photo Identification. Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. 2006.
Barreto, M. et. al. The Disproportionate Impact of Indiana Voter ID Requirements on the Electorate. Nov. 2007.
Hood, M.V. And Charles S. Bullock. Worth a Thousand Words? An Analysis of Georgia's Voter Identification Statute. University of Georgia. 2007.

In Other News:

Make Absentee Voting Easier for Military Members - Roll Call
Ever since the 2000 election's Florida controversy, problems with absentee voting by our military personnel overseas have been on the minds of election reformers - but not so much on the agenda of election officials.

Bills aim to recast elections - Tulsa World [Okla.]
OKLAHOMA CITY - A number of bills filed for the upcoming session propose changes to the state's election laws.

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).

20/20, John Stossel To Run Hatchet Piece on Young Voter Engagement

Michael Connery — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:18:01 GMT

On Friday at 10pm, 20/20 will run a piece on the youth vote called "Maybe It's Your Civic Duty Not To Vote," in which they suggest that uninformed voters - primarily young people - not turn out to the polls. In talking to the youth group,HeadCount, featured in the piece, it is clear that 20/20 and Stossel were less interested in discovering the truth about young voters while filming their piece than in crafting a hatchet job meant to cast doubt on the growing youth vote.

You can view the 4 minute segment here.
There is a lot that is wrong with this piece. Yes, there are many uninformed voters, but that category is not limited to young people, who are unfortunately the main target of this piece. Anyone who has ever watched Jay Leno could tell you that many Americans are uninformed about current events. Unfortunately, some see that as an excuse to rob people of their constitutional rights, and Stossel and ABC are happy to play along.

But all is not as it appears in this report. In talking with HeadCount, the group featured in the piece, it's clear that Stossel and 20/20 were not interested in giving the young people they interviewed a fair shake. They had a narrative to their story and stuck by it - facts be damned. More than that, they worked -um, creatively - to make sure their point of view dominated the piece. Here's a list of inaccuracies and selective editing that viewers won't see:

At 1 minute into the piece, Stossel interviews two voters who can accurately answer questions about American civics, after which, far more concert-goers and "regular folks" are shown who are unable to answer similar questions. According to HeadCount, this is not an accurate representation of the percentage of interviewees who successfully answered the questions. Far more concert-goers were knowledgeable than implied by the report.
At minute 1:20, the report shows a girl saying that there are only 12 Senators in the US. The only problem? She wasn't responding to a question about the number of US Senators, but about the number of Supreme Court Justices. Yes, she was still incorrect, but Stossel and 20/20 manipulated the footage to make her appear even less knowledgeable than she actually was.
Staffers at HeadCount say that this is often the case with the featured interviewees, who were asked not a single question, as the report implies, but many. Many interviewees were knowledgeable about some issues, but less so when it came to other issues. The young voter responses included in the report were cherry-picked by Stossel and ABC producers to highlight only the incorrect answers.
At 1:42, Stossel asks Marc Brownstein if voters should be "knowledgeable" (whatever that means) before casting a ballot. Brownstein replies that "there are a lot of of uneducated voters out there." But that wasn't all he said. In the full interview, Brownstein went on to explain that HeadCount distributes nonpartisan issue sheets at the tables alongside the voter registration materials the organization offers each night. That educational effort was completely left out of Stossel's report.
Also cut out of the full report were interviews with very knowledgeable young HeadCount staffers, teachers, and youth activists - generally the most informed portion of the pool of interviewees.

HeadCount staffers who followed the camera crew throughout the day offered interesting coda to those interviews. During the filming, Andrew Sullivan, a Harvard graduate and producer of the piece, mistakenly tried to correct one young concert goer who was asked about the length of single term for a congressional representative. The young concert-goer, correctly, said two years. Sullivan, incorrectly, tried to tell them it was four. I guess Sullivan won't be voting this year?

All of this is par for the course for John Stossel, who has often had a rocky relationship with the truth. Here are just a few examples pulled from his Wikipedia page:

Controversies
[edit] Galbraith and Stossel
Liberal economist James K. Galbraith said that Stossel, in a story on laissez-faire economics in September 1999, used an out of context clip of Galbraith to make it seem that Galbraith had said nearly the opposite of what he meant. Stossel denied that Galbraith's views had been misrepresented but changed the words with which he introduced the Galbraith clip in rebroadcasts of the program.[27][28][29]
[edit] Organic Vegetables
A February 2000 story about organic vegetables on 20/20 included statements by Stossel that tests had shown that neither organic nor conventional produce samples contained any pesticide residue, and that organic food was more likely to be contaminated by E. coli bacteria. The Environmental Working Group objected to his report, mainly questioning his statements about bacteria, but also managed to determine that the produce had never been tested for pesticides. They communicated this to Stossel, but after the story's producer backed Stossel's recollection that the test results had been as described, the story was rebroadcast months later, uncorrected, and with a postscript in which Stossel reiterated his claim. Later, after a report in The New York Times confirmed the Environmental Working Group's claims, ABC News suspended the producer of the segment for a month and reprimanded Stossel. Stossel apologized, saying that he had thought the tests had been conducted as reported. However, he asserted that the gist of his report had been accurate.[30][31][32][33][34]
[edit] Televangelist Lifestyle
In a March 2007 segment about finances and lifestyles of televangelists, 20/20 aired a clip of a TV minister originally broadcast by the Lifetime Network in 1997. The clip made it seem that the minister was describing his wealth in extravagant terms, when actually, he was telling a parable about a rich man. ABC News twice aired a retraction and apologized for the error. The minister filed a lawsuit against Stossel, his source for the clip, 20/20, and ABC for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[35][36]

Stossel, who is a self-proclaimed libertarian (a position that obviously does not extend to the freedom to vote for one's leaders), and frequent contributor to the conservative website Townhall.com, closes out the piece by highlighting the work of fellow libertarian Byan Caplan, an econ professor who made his bones espousing an elitist view of democracy in which only a select few should cast their ballots:

"Maybe 75 percent of people can name the vice president. ... The public's knowledge of politics is shockingly low," economist Bryan Caplan said.
In his book "The Myth of the Rational Voter," Caplan argues that people who know little about our government ought to stay home on Election Day.
But aren't Americans always told it's their civic duty to vote?
"This is very much like saying, 'It's our civic duty to give surgery advice,'" Caplan said. "Now, we like to think that political issues are much less complicated than brain surgery, but many of them are pretty hard. If someone doesn't know what he's talking about, it really is better if they say, 'Look, I'm just gonna leave this in wiser hands.'"
But isn't it elitist to say only some people should vote?
"Is it elitist to say only some people should do brain surgery?" Caplan said. "The bottom line is, if you don't know what you're doing, you are not doing the country a favor by voting."
Voting is serious business. Democracy works best when people educate themselves. So maybe instead of telling people things like "Rock the Vote," these groups should say "Rock or Vote."

All Americans - young and old - may not be experts on the every issue, but they are experts on their own lives. They know that they're not getting enough help. That tuition is too high and grants are too low. That they need to drive to work, and heat their house or apartment, but energy prices are too high. That they are one broken leg away from bankruptcy and that getting a loan to buy a house just become that much more unattainable. And let's face it, it's not as if the experts have that great a track record when it comes to the issues of the day, whether we're talking about the subprime housing market, the war in Iraq, ending our addiction to fossil fuels.

Democracy is for all of us, not just a select few. As a nation, we eliminated the idea of literacy tests decades ago, and rightly so. Kudos to HeadCount for pushing back on this argument to the extent that was possible within the piece, and shame on Stossel and ABC for enabling it. Young voters have faced a hostile media for decades, always pining about youth apathy. Now, on the cusp of a record breaking turnout, for a major media outlet to question the validity of those votes on such flimsy grounds, in opposition our constitutional rights, is the height of irresponsibility. Dare I say it, it's unamerican.

If you would like to express your displeasure about this piece to ABC, send a polite but firm email to the producer, Andrew Sullivan, outlining your concerns: Andrew.G.Sullivan [at] abc [dot] com

Cross-posted from Future Majority - a blog covering progressive youth politics.

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).

New Summit - Reclaiming the Stuff of Politics

Sayhar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:24:39 GMT

Crossposted at Future Majority and The Great Orange Satan

Hey All. I'm a fellow at the Roosevelt Institution this summer, and I have a question for you:

What are you up to this July 11th? Still recovering from crazy 4th of July parties? Feverishly packing for Netroots Nation? Trying to whip Democratic Senators into shape vis-a-vis FISA?

I have an idea that's way more fun.

That's right. Presenting - The Roosevelt Institution National Expo, Reclaiming the Stuff of Politics.

(If you're a young progressive) be there. Or be rectangular.

Friday July 11, 2008
AED Conference Center
1825 Connecticut Ave, NW, 8th floor
Washington D.C.

On gender, race, and the primary (2)

dr anonymous — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 00:59:53 GMT

I posted this diary as two parts, the first to thank second-wave feminists like Ferraro, Clinton, and Steinem for forcing attention to misogyny/patriarchy/etc. This second part is a critique, in part of them, but also of how widely of that school of feminism's messaging has been allowed to reverberate throughout this primary process to the exclusion of some important realities of the way real men, women, and others live. The wikipedia entry on third-wave feminism states succinctly:

"Third-wave feminism seeks to challenge or avoid what it deems the second wave's "essentialist" definitions of femininity, which often assumed a universal female identity and over-emphasized experiences of upper middle class white women."

As an example, look at two ways that the CNN Pennsylvania primary exit poll dealt with gender:

"Vote by Gender": Male 49% Clinton, 51% Obama; Female 59% Clinton, 41% Obama

"Vote by Gender and Race" - White Men 57% Clinton, 43% Obama; White Women 68% Clinton 32% Obama; Black Men 7% Clinton, 93% Obama; Black Women 12 % Clinton, 88% Obama; Latino Men N/A, Latino Women N/A
In conversations about the role of gender in this election, the second one is SO much more important. It's not just because it has more detail but because it has relevant detail; one candidate was a White Woman, the other is a Black Man. Both stats show that gender plays a role; but the second shows that gender plays a different role in two different race groups, that there were substantial numbers of people who were "supposed" to vote for one candidate or the other on one or both demographics considered in isolation, but didn't and...etc.

The stat on Latinos by gender also demonstrates the important reality that data has limits. But most of the limits are probably self-imposed--there isn't even a question looking at the intersection of age and gender that I saw in the exit poll, even though there is one on race and age! All of this makes you wonder exactly how people are drawing conclusions on a topic as complex about the relationships of gender to voting in the primaries in a campaign between a White Woman and a Black Man.

In any case, the first of the two stats from the exit poll requires one sentence to describe; the second one maybe a paragraph. Hopefully we all have enough of a commitment to other people to use three sentences instead of shorthand...because newspapers don't (seriously...I used to work as a reporter).

Going further than that, embracing the complications involved in lived identity will help in reunderstanding profoundly obnoxious arguments like "Clinton-supporting women won't vote for Obama over McCain" and correcting them, but I'm not going to ask that of you. Mainly that's because I think that's for people to come to in their own time; it feels a bit much to ask for inclusion of the idea of genderqueerness in the short-run discussion on identity when basic ideas like class, race, age and other factors that have obviously intersected with gender aren't being discussed nearly enough. :)

I do hope that it does happen though.