Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold an important hearing entitled, The State of the Right to Vote After the 2012 Election. The timing is ripe for the committee to consider the state of our most fundamental right as citizens. Just six weeks ago, Americans went to the polls in large numbers to elect a president in spite of massive hurdles that interfered with their most fundamental right.
The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to review a case that challenges the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act, which has been a crucial tool for protecting the minority vote and ensuring equal access to the ballot box.
The court agreed to hear Shelby County v. Holder, which involves Shelby County, Ala. The ACLU intervened in the case in order to represent minority voters and the state NAACP chapter, and protect the right to vote.
For the last two years, there was a wave of voter suppression laws passed in states. As the ACLU, has long argued many of the laws took different forms -- voter ID and citizenship requirements, limitations on early voting, restrictions on third-party voter registration, purging, and criminal disfranchisement laws -- but their impact and intent are the same: a cynical attempt to push certain constituencies out of the electorate in advance of an election. This is particularly true for voters of color, students, voters with disabilities and the elderly.
By Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at 1:46pm
As America heads to the polls to elect the next president, stories are circulating about, and a lawsuit has been filed over, a last-minute software patch apparently being installed on voting tabulation machines in Ohio, as described in a secret contract between Ohio’s Republican secretary of state and the nation’s largest electronic voting machine manufacturer. (See this roundup and analysis of the story by Brad Friedman at Salon, which links to other key coverage of the story.)
Today is Election Day – an opportunity to exercise your right to vote, one of your most basic and cherished rights as an American. So wherever you live and whatever your political views, this is the time to have your say and participate in our democracy.
A lot is at stake this year, so please be sure to make your voice heard. You’ll not only be choosing our nation’s president, but you may also be selecting your U.S. Senators and Representatives. And in 46 states, you’ll also be electing state legislators, who have a huge say about your fundamental rights and issues that affect you every day. Here are some resources to help you cast a ballot:
You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that there is a presidential election going on. And you’ve probably seen countless TV ads from members of Congress asking for your votes. But did you know that in 46 states, state legislators are on the ballot, too? And in 23 states, the entire legislature – every single seat in the state legislature – is up for election.
In a victory for Pennsylvania voters, a state judge today halted the enforcement of the state’s voter ID law, which threatened to disenfranchise thousands of elderly residents, students, the homeless and communities of color this November.
Judge Robert Simpson Jr. ruled that he was “not convinced” that the requirement to show photo ID at polling stations would not lead to voter disenfranchisement, as the state had argued.
Do you know what you need in order to vote this year? How about your grandmother? Or your neighbor?
With a pivotal election less than two months away, we’re launching “Let Me Vote,” a nationwide voting rights campaign to make sure all Americans have the information they need in order to vote.
In a time when dozens of states are trying to make it harder to vote, we need to ensure that everyone—especially students, the elderly and communities of color—know their rights. We all need to fight back against voter restrictions, but in the meantime, we can beat these new barriers by getting ready to vote now.
As a former South Carolina State Election Commissioner, I hope that the U.S. District Court will see the new South Carolina voter ID law for what it is and block its implementation.
