Cross-posted at Project Vote’s blog, Voting Matters
Weekly Voting Rights News Update
By Erin Ferns
The battle to protect the voting rights of low income and minority citizens was marked by several victories last week. In addition to the “three key battles” on voting rights outlined by Steven Rosenfeld last Friday – Missouri’s controversial voter ID defeat, Arizona’s agreement to comply with federal voter registration law, and voter ID crusader, Hans von Spakovsky’s withdrawal from his Federal Election Commission nomination- on Monday Kansas governor, Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a voter ID bill citing “I cannot support creating any roadblock to prevent our citizens from adding their voices to the democratic discourse that makes our nation great,” she said.
A Close Call for Voting Rights
Two onerous bills requiring both proof of citizenship to register to vote and government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot narrowly missed enactment this past week.
High profile Missouri bill, HJR 48, estimated to disenfranchise up to 240,000 registered voters who would be unable to prove their citizenship, failed to pass the Senate before the state legislature adjourned on Friday. The bill failed “in part because of pressure by the secretary of state and grass-roots groups,” reported Saturday’s New York Times.
“You rarely see pressure move this fast or this effectively,” said Project Vote deputy director, Michael Slater in the Times, referring to the numerous opinion pieces in papers across the country expressing public outrage against voter ID. Voters and election activists from across the state also voiced their opinions through 4,200 calls to lawmakers, “urging them to not consider this legislation,” according to the Missourians for Fair Elections.
“It’s a victory for voters’ rights,” Carnahan told the Times after the bill was defeated. “This debate has been about ensuring fair elections, and elections cannot be fair if eligible voters are not allowed to make their voice heard on Election Day.”
While much attention was focused on Missouri’s HJR 48, a little known bill proposing a similar proof of citizenship and voter ID requirement made it to the governor’s desk in neighboring state, Kansas. On Monday, Gov. Sebelius vetoed the bill, reinforcing a point that advocates have been making for years: “HB 2019 seeks to solve a problem of voter fraud which does not exist in our state due to the tireless efforts of our local election officials,” according to the Kansas City Star.
Currently, 10 states have pending voter ID bills and eight are considering proof of citizenship. Some of these bills may be monitored at Project Vote’s election bill tracking Web site, www.ElectionLegislation.org (registration required).
Arizona’s Compliance with the National Voter Registration Act
Arizona – the only state to require proof of citizenship from voter applicants – has rejected 37,000 new applications since the law was implemented in 2004.
As Rosenfeld wrote: “This past January, Project Vote and Demos, two voter advocacy groups, sent a letter to Arizona Secretary of State Jan Brewer notifying her that Arizona was not in compliance with the public agency provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The letter said voter registration at the state’s welfare had declined 70 percent over the past 12 years.”
Late last week, Arizona and the U.S. Justice Department agreed to comply with federal law by offering voter registration at public assistance agencies.
“This agreement ends the need for litigation and means Arizona will bring voter registration to the state’s low-income communities,” said Slater in a statement last Friday. “Project Vote applauds the Justice Department and Arizona’s Department of Economic Security for working together for the benefit of all Arizonans.”
Withdrawal of Controversial FEC Nominee
And in another victory for voting rights, “President Bush’s contentious nominee for the Federal Election Commission removed his name from consideration,” the Associated Press reported Friday. His withdrawal is expected to end “a lengthy stalemate that had paralyzed the work of the agency.”
During his tenure at the Bush Justice Department, von Spakovsky played a leading role in politicizing the DOJ, misdirecting the power of the Civil Rights Division to suppress – not protect — African American and Latino voters. His time with the Justice Department was marked by controversy, most vehemently over his approval of the Georgia voter ID law, approval of Tom Delay’s Texas redistricting plans, and the exodus of career staff. Project Vote helped Congress and the media uncover von Spakovsky’s role as the leading architect of voter suppression at DOJ and then worked to keep the Senate unified against his nomination to the FEC. His withdrawal after a year-long standoff represents a major step towards preserving the integrity of the electoral process.
Quick Links:
Restrictive Voter Identification Requirements. Project Vote. December 2006.
In Other News:
Texas attorney general’s two-year effort fails to unravel large-scale voter-fraud schemes – Denton Record Chronicle
AUSTIN – More than two years ago, Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott pledged to root out what he called an epidemic of voter fraud in Texas.
Voting rights elusive for ex-felons: Virginia joins Kentucky with harsh reinstatement laws – C-Ville
In the coming summer months, when Virginia Organizing Project (VOP) organizer Harold Folley knocks on doors and talks to folks about the 2008 elections, inevitably some will tell him that they aren’t able to vote. And just maybe, Folley will lean in and pry a bit, stick his nose in their business, and discover that a felony conviction, even decades old, has taken away someone’s civil rights.
OPINION: Same-day democracy – Adrian Walker; Boston Globe
Diane Jeffery is president of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, but she remembers perfectly well the day she was not allowed to vote.
Erin Ferns is a Research and Policy Analyst with Project Vote’s Strategic Writing and Research Department (SWORD).
