Election Reform
The ACLU supports various election reforms that are consistent with the one person, one vote standard of the Fourteenth Amendment, including abolishing the existing Electoral College system for choosing the president and vice-president, abolishing laws that disfranchise students and people who are homeless, and allowing same day voter registration.
Resources
South Carolina Passes Discriminatory Voter ID Bill (2011 press release): In May 2011, the South Carolina Senate passed legislation that will require voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot. South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicle statistics show that nearly 180,000 voters in South Carolina – most of whom are elderly, student, minority or low-income voters – will be disenfranchised as a result of this discriminatory bill. Proponents of the bill claim the voter ID requirement will curb in-person election fraud. The South Carolina Election Commission, however, reports that no cases of fraud exist.
ACLU Of Utah Releases Report On Ogden Election Irregularities (2008 press release): In April 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah released a report today detailing the results of an investigation into election irregularities surrounding the Ogden 2007 municipal election.
ACLU of Michigan Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Primary Election Law (2008 press release): In January 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced a federal lawsuit challenging the new primary law that requires the Michigan Secretary of State to provide party preference declarations solely to the two major political parties of the State. The law, passed in August of 2007, makes it a misdemeanor for others, including political parties, journalists, academics or historians, to have access or use the lists. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Green Party of Michigan, Libertarian Party of Michigan, the Reform Party of Michigan, the Metro Times and Winning Strategies, a political consulting firm.
ACLU of Ohio Says Hasty Election Changes May Disenfranchise Voters (2007 press release)
ACLU Asks Registrars in First Congressional District to Make Certain that Poll Workers Are Trained to Inform Voters of Alternatives to Showing ID (2007 press release)
ACLU of New Jersey Election Day Report Calls for Reform of Voting Systems (2007 press release)
ACLU Letter to the House Supporting H.R. 1281, the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 (2007 resource)
ACLU of Florida Calls for Voter-Verified Paper Trail (2006 press release)
