By Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:44am
Watching President Obama take the Oath of Office four years ago was a historic moment I will never forget. I remember meeting him when he was an Illinois state senator...
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.
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 Patrick DePoy, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 11:05am
Like many Americans, Asher Schor is excited to vote this coming November. Asher was born and raised in Pittsburgh, works at a public interest law firm, and feels more motivated than ever to participate in the electoral process. But Asher is one of thousands of transgender Americans whose driver’s license and passport do not reflect his or her true gender identity. Asher received his photo ID before his transition and the official sex listed still reads “Female.” He recently joined the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s lawsuit against a new and particularly onerous voter ID law, and I had a chance to discuss how the new law will impact him at the polls this November. This LGBT Pride Month, it’s important to examine the ways that voter suppression efforts, like newly-enacted photo ID laws, will have a disproportionately harmful impact on those who are transgender.
