Sen. Dick Durbin calls the recent rash of state voter suppression efforts, "a threat to our democracy." Yesterday he held a hearing on this disturbing trend at which the ACLU submitted a statement for the record.
In recent months, state legislatures across the nation have erected new barriers to the ballot through the passage of a range of highly restrictive voter suppression laws. Regressive measures were introduced in more than 30 states, and thirteen states proceeded to adopt new or expanded barriers to voting.
Pundits, politicians, and publicists all agree: Ohio is crucial to any national election. And this year, Ohio is just one of many states that has had to grapple with legislators’ attempts to restrict voting rights. In 2011, state legislatures across the country considered, and ultimately passed, a range of voter suppression legislation, including photo ID and proof of citizenship requirements, cuts to early and absentee voting, and more.
State legislatures are ground zero in the fight for civil liberties. Although they may not attract as much attention as debates in Congress or arguments in the Supreme Court, they are the source of unprecedented assaults on our most fundamental rights.
Three troubling trends of the 2011 state legislative session were:
restrictions on accessing abortion;
racial profiling bills targeting Latinos and immigrants; and
measures suppressing the right to vote.
Did your state see a battle on one of these issues? Check out this map to learn more.
Ninety-one years ago today, then-Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed a proclamation formally adopting the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. After over 70 years of fighting, women were finally guaranteed the right to vote. The product of this effort, this vast expansion of the right to vote, was cause for celebration for everyone in this country.
By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:57pm
I grew up in a family that was always extremely engaged in politics. My mother ran for political office three times and from an early age instilled in me the importance of exercising our most cherished fundamental right: the right to vote. At age 70, my mother stopped driving and did not have government-issued photo identification until she died at age 84, although she still was able to vote in every election. Over the last few months, however, state legislatures have passed voter identification laws that would prevent senior citizens like my mother from expressing her political voice at the polls.
We had hoped that, amidst a sea of restrictive voting initiatives across the country, Nevada would be a beacon of light. But today, with a stroke of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s pen, the Silver State jumped on the voter suppression bandwagon.
Right now in Nevada, if you’re convicted of a felony, good luck figuring out how to get your voting rights back. The state’s absurdly complicated and overly punitive voter disfranchisement law bars an estimated 43,000 people with felony convictions from voting. (Across the country, these laws keep more than 5 million people out of the political process.)
In a recent column in the Wall Street Journal, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach takes a victory lap trumpeting the passage of his voter ID law. He writes: "You can't cash a check, board a plane, or even buy full-strength Sudafed over the counter without [a photo ID]. That's why it's not unreasonable to require one in order to protect our most important privilege of citizenship." Voting, however, is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right guaranteed by more constitutional amendments than any other right we have. Cashing a check, getting on an airplane, and buying a nasal decongestant are not similarly enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Last week we told you about the rash of photo-ID-to-vote bills popping up around the country, which will do nothing but prevent countless Americans from voting.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach argued recently in the Wall Street Journal that "You can't cash a check, board a plane, or even buy full-strength Sudafed over the counter without [a photo ID]. That's why it's not unreasonable to require one in order to protect our most important privilege of citizenship."
Remember the adage “one person, one vote?” In an increasing number of states, it’s more like:
1 person
+ 1 birth certificate
+ 1 marriage license
+ 1 utility bill + 1 trip to the DMV
= 1 vote
That’s because states around the country — from Kansas to Wisconsin to South Carolina — are approving voter identification laws, which would require voters to show a photo ID in order to cast a ballot.
Kansas took a giant leap backwards this week by enacting one of the harshest voter ID laws in the country. Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill into law Monday that will require voters to present photo ID at the polls as well as proof of citizenship in order to register. Kansas has joined a small group of outliers in passing such a retrograde law. Thirty-two state legislatures have introduced similar photo ID bills this year in what appears to be a nationwide coordinated effort to erect new barriers to voting. Only two other states in the union—Indiana and Georgia—refuse to hand a regular ballot to a voter who lacks photo ID without exception or alternative.
