Bio:
Project Vote is the leading voter participation and election administration organization in the United States explicitly targeting a constituency of low-income families and communities of color.
Today Wired Magazine published an in-depth look at potential Election Day problems associated with voter registration data matching, list maintenance, provisional ballots, and shadowy interstate compacts through which member states cross-check their voter registration lists and purge supposedly duplicated voters. Titled “Voter Database Glitches Could Disenfranchise Thousands”, the piece, written by Kim Zetter, starts this way,
Electronic voting machines have been the focus of much controversy the last few years. But another election technology has received little scrutiny yet could create numerous problems and disenfranchise thousands of voters in November, election experts say.
This year marks the first time that new, statewide, centralized voter-registration databases will be used in a federal election in a number of states.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 422 words in story)
digg it
Last week the Department of Veterans Affairs, bowing to months of pressure from voting rights groups and elected officials, revised its rules concerning voter registration drives to allow such activities if certain conditions were met.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 322 words in story)
digg it
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s Voting Matter’s Blog Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
Partisan political operatives in Michigan are taking voter caging operations to depths that would surprise even the most cynical observers of American elections. If their plans are put into action, thousands of Michigan foreclosure victims may find that they will not only have lost their homes this year, but also their vote.
There’s More…
:: (1
Comments, 966 words in story)
digg it
(Great news from Ohio! – promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
For a while now we’ve been keeping you informed of Project Vote’s efforts to prevent a repeat of massive voter caging operations that plagued Ohio in the 2004 elections. A controversial series of vague voter challenge laws, passed by the Ohio legislature in 2006, allowed any voter’s eligibility to be challenged, without notice, based on nothing more than a single piece of returned, unforwardable mail. This is the same trick the GOP used to challenge over 35,000 Ohio voters in 2004, when the outcome of the entire presidential election was riding on that state. This transparent voter suppression tactic worked in 2004, and the 2006 laws made it even easier. Project Vote has estimated that, in 2008, voter caging could result in as many as 600,000 eligible voters-mostly low-income Americans, people of color, and youths-being stricken from the Ohio voter rolls without notice or due process.
There’s More…
:: (8
Comments, 357 words in story)
digg it
While many see voting as an implicit right in a representative democracy, decisions in America about who can vote and how are actually controlled by the states and vary greatly from state-to-state, even from county-to-county.
Misinformation and misinterpretation of each state’s particular laws-not only by voters, but also by state officials-has the potential to influence the outcome of the election, a problem seen recently as two of the country’s most disenfranchised groups – youth and former felons -have encountered procedural roadblocks to electoral participation.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1002 words in story)
digg it
Election experts have already worried that the surge of newly registered voters may cause unintentional chaos through long lines and ballot shortages on Election Day. Now there is increased concern that intentional chaos may be caused by partisan forces using something that millions of Americans access every day – the Internet. Although deceiving and disenfranchising voters through political dirty tricks is a staple partisan strategy to influence election results, the Internet may be making it easier and more effective than ever to spread misinformation, according to CNN reporter, Stephanie Busari.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 932 words in story)
digg it
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.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1123 words in story)
digg it
Last week, we wrote about how some reporters have stopped playing into the hands of voter suppression operatives and suddenly acted like journalists by actually investigating partisan claims of voter fraud in relation to voter registration drives. Until the Virginia press corps showed how it should be done, this kind of every-day feat of journalism had been as rare as voter fraud itself. But, if this is August of an election year, then this must be voter suppression season.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1312 words in story)
digg it
Just yesterday we noted the right way to report on charges of voter fraud and the wrong way to go about it. We explained how the news media had been gamed by people with a partisan interest in the outcome of elections to gin up hysteria to engage in voter intimidation and voter disenfranchisement efforts.
Well, the partisans are back at it in Wisconsin, but this time the press is following the lead of Virginia journalists and scrutinizing the claims rather than simply reprinting the press release.
Here’s the backstory. The community organization ACORN has recently completed a voter registration drive in Milwaukee aimed at historically disenfranchised populations like low-income folks and African-Americans. The drive assisted voters complete some 35,000 cards. So far so good.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 609 words in story)
digg it
(Okay, so this post covers a lot of the ongoing horror story of how the media continues to uncritically repeat baseless GOP “voter fraud” claims, but eventually it DOES deliver on the promised morsel of good news from Virginia–hopefully a sign that the tide is starting to turn. – promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
We spend a lot of time in these news updates showing how charges of voter fraud are used to discredit voter participation efforts and prime the pump for voter suppression efforts, such as the passage of voter ID bills, pushing for proof of citizenship, engaging in draconian voter purge efforts, and imposing sever restrictions on voter registration drives. We have also spent a lot of time carefully delineating the politics behind these efforts, starting with our March 2007 report The Politics Of Voter Fraud and continuing on in these diaries to name but two venues.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1724 words in story)
digg it
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.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1339 words in story)
digg it
Those who read our diaries know Project Vote as the organization that fights voter suppression and helps election protection efforts. What you may not know is that in addition to being on the frontlines in the fight for voter rights, Project Vote is also the largest voter registration organization in the United States.
Since 2003 over one-third of all registration applications submitted through voter registration drives in the U.S. have come through Project Vote. In 2003-04 we submitted 1.13 million applications, in 2006 just over 547,000, and by Friday we will collect our 1,000,000th registration for 2007-08. Half of our registrants are under 30, and almost all of them are African-Americans or Latinos. One-third of them have never registered before in their lives.
With one month left in the drive we have 270,000 more registrations to collect and you can help!
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 243 words in story)
digg it
In 2000, Florida’s disastrous effort to purge former felons from voter rolls resulted in the disenfranchisement of hundreds if not thousands of legitimate voters and clearly influenced the outcome of the presidential contest in that state. History may repeat itself this November with states taking potentially reckless and unlawful measures to clean voter rolls before Election Day.
There’s More…
:: (2
Comments, 874 words in story)
digg it
The Tampa Tribune criticized ACORN in an opinion piece that ran on Saturday July 19th for putting Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning on notice that the state of Florida was not in compliance with the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. According to the act, voter registration assistance must be provided not only at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) but at all agencies that provide public assistance (such as Medicaid and food stamps). A recent study released by Project Vote, ACORN, and Demos showed that Florida’s percentage of registrations from public-assistance agencies dropped from 9% in 1995 and 1.8% in 2007.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 489 words in story)
digg it
By Nathan Henderson-James and cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters.
A Sunday news story by Catherine Dolinsky in the Tampa Tribune highlights Florida’s failure to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and talks extensively about the joint efforts of Project Vote, Demos, and ACORN to force Florida to follow this federal law. Dolinksy quotes ACORN’s Florida Head Organizer Brian Kettering on the civil rights implications of Florida’s failure,
"Hispanic and African-American communities are being deprived of the opportunity to register to vote at a higher rate than anybody else," Kettenring said. "So this is a fairness issue, but it’s also a civil rights issue."
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 468 words in story)
digg it
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns and Nathan Henderson-James
Massive voter registration drives, recent passionate immigration debates, and the contested presidential primaries are finally bringing one of the nation’s fastest growing populations into the democratic process, despite decades of low voter participation rates and recent voting rights attacks based on anti-immigrant rhetoric. Recognizing their rapidly increasing voting power – which is catching up with their “raw demographic power,” particularly in the closely contested states of Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada – both presidential candidates are actively pursuing Latino voters. However, advocates caution a powerful lesson must be learned from voter suppression schemes executed in recent elections in order to ensure this former “sleeping giant” of electoral participation will have access to the polls in November, and most importantly, have their votes counted.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 1001 words in story)
digg it
In the aftermath of the presidential primaries, stories of unprecedented voter registration and turnout are drifting to the back burner. But with an exceedingly imbalanced electorate, the fight to create access to the voting rolls and enforce the voting rights of all Americans continues. With historic voter registration drives underway and a preview of the types of problems that could occur in November, the focus of the media is beginning to shift towards the less sexy, but crucial elements that work to maximize voter participation while ensuring eligible voters can cast their ballots and have them counted. In Project Vote’s view, this is a welcome development since many of the potential issues require more time to sort out than is available if problems are noted only weeks in advance of the election. This week, election officials, advocates and a presidential candidate worked to assist in or restore voting rights for hospitalized veterans in Connecticut, minority citizens in Georgia, and former felons in Tennessee.
There’s More…
:: (5
Comments, 818 words in story)
digg it
Despite growing political interest among Americans, this November millions of people who “live, work and raise families in our communities” will be denied the right to elect our next president as a result of a past felony conviction. Felon disenfranchisement has raised concerns among advocates and legislators that such laws further perpetuate disparities not only in the electorate, but also in society.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 624 words in story)
digg it
“Party politics is driving up registration at unusually high rates,” Project Vote Deputy Director Michael Slater said in Sunday’s New York Times. Slater was referencing the surge of voter registration from both partisan and non-partisan drives “in an effort to change the demographics” of an imbalanced electorate. The flood of interest in the electoral process reportedly has election officials in Louisiana overworked and concerned over how many rejected voter applicants will show up in November thinking they are on the voting rolls.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 535 words in story)
digg it
Project Vote’s Michael Slater was recently quoted in Tampa publication, Creative Loafing on the state of youth voting in the United States.
“When they talk about youth vote, it is code for college kids,” Project Vote’s Slater said. “The real challenge is: Will we see anyone go beyond the college voters to the other half of young voters? How do we find issues that appeal to them beyond those on the campus?”
That demographic includes more young voters of color and in lower economic ranges, groups that are already horribly underrepresented at the polls.
“The other half aren’t touched by the campaigns as effectively,” Slater said. “When you leave campuses, you lose some of the intensity that drives participation.”
Project Vote recently released a research memo on the demographic make-up of youth voters in the U.S.
The article mentions Project Vote’s goal to register 1.2 million low income, minority, and young citizens in time for the 2008 general election in November, “[h]alf of those will be young voters. In Florida, where ACORN does Project Vote’s work, that will equate to 60,000-100,000 possible new voters.”
“Every sign indicates this is going to be a big, big election,” Slater said. “I think we may have a real opportunity to expand the electorate to include people who haven’t participated or who haven’t been engaged in the process.”
Project Vote is currently more than halfway towards its goal with 615,000 voters registered as of June 1, 2008.
In These Times’ July 2008 cover story, Expand The Vote, posted to its website on June 11, prominently features Project Vote’s work to create an electorate that is representative of the American citizenry.
Adam Doster, an In These Times senior editor, frames the article by showcasing Project Vote’s 1992 Illinois voter registration drive, directed by young recent law school graduate Barack Obama, and shows the impact that members of underrepresented groups can have in elections, no matter who they choose to support.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 518 words in story)
digg it
A new Research Memo published today by Project Vote shows that while youth voter participation has been setting records this election cycle, participation by young people still lags behind other age groups. Further the data show that participation has largely been confined to young people with at least some college experience.In Project Vote’s view, this data suggests that continued focus on college-attending youth without reaching out to non-college youth threatens to leave at least half of this key constituency out of the most important election in a generation.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 255 words in story)
digg it
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
“Someone needs to the tell the VA that veterans don’t check their citizenship rights at the door when they enter a VA facility,” editorialized the Sacramento Bee on Sunday, referring to the continued refusal of the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist with voter registration. The Calif. publication urged the VA to change a policy restricting voter registration drives before October registration deadlines for the 2008 presidential election.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 668 words in story)
digg it
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Indiana’s voter ID law, the state-by-state battle to pass similar legislation has escalated with politicians seeking partisan gain furiously pushing laws that hinder access to the ballot. However, lawmakers seeking to dismantle barriers to electoral participation are just as committed to election integrity and protecting the voting rights of potentially millions of voters by calling out voter ID laws as “sheer political posturing.” Meanwhile, positive measures to increase participation through Election Day Registration (EDR) are gaining ground in several states even as Iowa prepares to test-drive its new EDR law in the June 3 primary.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 986 words in story)
digg it
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters.
Today the Dallas Morning News editorialized on the recent attempts by the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbot, to find any evidence of widespread voter impersonation fraud or illegal voting by non-citizens. Project Vote reported on his failure to find any evidence of organized or widespread fraud earlier this week.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 229 words in story)
digg it
(Activism Works! Not only did the good guys win, they got good press, thus shifting the odds for future fights. – promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
The battle to protect the voting rights of low income and minority citizens was marked by several victories last week. In addition to the “three key battles” on voting rights outlined by Steven Rosenfeld last Friday – Missouri’s controversial voter ID defeat, Arizona’s agreement to comply with federal voter registration law, and voter ID crusader, Hans von Spakovsky’s withdrawal from his Federal Election Commission nomination- on Monday Kansas governor, Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a voter ID bill citing “I cannot support creating any roadblock to prevent our citizens from adding their voices to the democratic discourse that makes our nation great,” she said.
There’s More…
:: (4
Comments, 845 words in story)
digg it
Reports out of Texas over the past month show a pattern familiar to voting rights groups: top law enforcement officials engaged in deeply politicized efforts to push prosecutions and policies that disenfranchise low-income and minority voters. Steve Rosenfeld, writing in the Texas Observer, lays out the the whole story in detail, but the general gist feels a lot like the politicization scandal the US Department of Justice brought to light over the course of 2007.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 840 words in story)
digg it
Yesterday, the Justice Department announced an agreement (PDF) to bring Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, which administers Food Stamps and TANF, into compliance with the public agency registration provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The agreement comes three months after Project Vote and Demos sent Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer a notice letter (PDF) advising her that the state was not in compliance with the law and asking her to take steps to improve compliance to avoid litigation.
There’s More…
:: (0
Comments, 223 words in story)
digg it
Partisan efforts to keep up to 300,000 eligible Missouri citizens, mostly progressive-leaning voters from elderly and low-income demographics but also including such large blocks as married women, permanently off the voting rolls are coming to a head in the Missouri Senate today as the Legislature prepares to adjourn. Measures not passed by that time will die, pending the Governor calling a special session.
Voting rights and progressive activists, led by Missourians for Fair Elections are fighting back and report an extremely tough but increasingly winnable fight against what the Kansas City Star is calling a “real deception…being perpetrated by legislators, whose claims of fraud are driving what appears to be a political agenda”.
Robin Carnahan, Missouri’s Secretary of State, and an opponent of the measure, HJR 48 – which would amend Missouri’s constitution to require proof of citizenship to register and vote, will be holding a press conference today in Kansas City to point out the partisan agenda behind this measure.
There’s More…
:: (2
Comments, 1059 words in story)
digg it
(I’ve written about the need to unstack the deck, but don’t forget that Republicans are working even harder to stack it even further. See the list below of vote suppression legislation – every single bill sponsored by a Republican. – promoted by Daniel De Groot)
Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
Requiring proof-of-citizenship in order to register to vote is the latest addition to voter suppression arsenal. Spurred by Arizona’s 2004 implementation of proof of citizenship requirements and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold Indiana’s strict voter ID law, proof of citizenship bills – often coupled with voter ID – are gaining traction across the country. With more than 13 million Americans lacking ready access to citizenship documentation and scant evidence of voter registration fraud by non-citizens (or any voter for that matter) leading to illegal votes, proof of citizenship requirements could have a significant impact on the electorate. Wasting no time after the high court’s decision, the neighboring states of Kansas and Missouri have swiftly moved forward with efforts to pass such legislation that could take effect in the November election.
There’s More…
:: (3
Comments, 1153 words in story)
digg it
