There is a sad truth in America – millions of hard-working and tax-paying citizens are denied one of the most fundamental rights – the right to vote. Felony disenfranchisement laws affect a total of 5.3 million Americans, four million of whom are out of prison and currently living and working in their communities. Aiming to shed light on this terrible injustice, the American Bar Association, ACLU, Brennan Center for Justice, Drug Policy Alliance, and Sentencing Project recently held a Congressional briefing to discuss the Democracy Restoration Act (S.1516/H.R.3335). The groups voiced their concerns with felony disenfranchisement and their reasons for supporting the Democracy Restoration Act. Read more
Today, only three states have enacted laws that voting rights groups argue foster lifelong civic engagement among the nation’s historically... Read more
Tuesday was a good day for voting rights when a New Jersey federal judge ruled to extend restrictions against partisan... Read more
Resolving a three-year old lawsuit filed against the state of Ohio that charged widespread violations of the National Voter Registration... Read more
Senseless voting barriers in Virginia elections – including misinformed poll workers and “antiquated election laws” – have hurt Virginians as... Read more
The 2008 election was the most diverse in modern history, with increases in participation among young people, minorities, unmarried individuals,... Read more
Not too long ago, the means of accessing and staying on the voter registration rolls was a highly controversial issue that often got lost in a partisan shuffle. However, after more than two million voters were unable to vote due to problems with their voter registration last year, policymakers and advocates on both sides are finally listening. Whether it is extravagant efforts to automate voter registration on the national level or revamping state voting systems to utilize citizens’ access to the Internet, improving voter registration is a glimmering goal in 2009 that brings promise for restoring the democratic process in the years to come. Read more
Media manipulation by the right-wing to influence public perception has been a decade-long tactic to undermine voter registration in America.... Read more
The future of voter registration and civic engagement may just stand a chance. California (a populous state of many voters-to-be) will soon allow all 17-year-old citizens to preregister to vote so that they will be automatically enrolled as legal voters once they turn 18. This newer trend in legislation, which boasts bipartisan support, has recently passed in North Carolina and has been successfully implemented in five other states, including Florida. Read more
After the 2008 election, voter registration has become a focal point for legislators and advocates from all ends of the spectrum. Whichever way it is sliced, the number of registered eligible voters has still declined since 2004. As multiple problems have been cited as the cause for lowered registration rates (including mobility issues, unequal access to registration opportunities, voter caging, and even so-called apathy), voting rights advocates as well as legislators have been vocal about their solutions. Read more