On May 17, 1957 in Washington, DC, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “Give Us the Ballot” address. It was three years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down “separate but equal” in their Brown v. Board of Education decision and eight years before the Voting Rights Act would become law in 1965. “And so read more
Voting laws are constantly changing. Stay up to date with what’s happening and how you can help your community vote. Expanding the Right to Vote in 2014 Thursday September 18th at 2:00pm ET 2014 has seen a range of new developments in voting and elections. Join us for an overview of recent trends in voting read more
Kansas voters are headed to the polls today, but thousands of people who registered to vote will be unable to participate because of a proof-of-citizenship law. The federal registration form requires that a person attest to being a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury, but does not require accompanying documentation. However, Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship law requires read more
The National Council on Disability and the Research Alliance for Accessible Voting have both released new reports on the Experience of Voters with Disabilities in the 2012 Election Cycle and Disability, Voter Turnout, and Voting Difficulties in the 2012 Elections. They found that 15.6 million people with disabilities reported voting in the November 2012 elections. read more
See an enlarged map at: http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/images/2013_expansive_map.png The Brennan Center has been tracking and analyzing the efforts of states to increase registration opportunities, expand early voting, and modernize election systems. They reviewed the nearly 200 bills to expand voting access that were introduced in 45 states in 2013. Most have failed while a few have passed–like read more
November 6, 2012 was the first presidential election since the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010. Consequentially, the 2012 election was more expensive than any other election in our history by more than $700 million. In an apparent reaction to the ruling, some states voted on limiting or eliminating corporate contributions to read more
We can’t have Election Day without poll workers and translators! Encourage your constituents to serve as poll workers and help your community vote in 2012. Poll Worker Recruitment for Nonprofits Thursday August 30th, 2:00-3:00pm Eastern Poll workers are on the front lines of helping people vote on Election Day. This year, many states have new ID read more
This time last year we reported on a new election law in Florida that drastically restricted third-party voter registration efforts. The 2011 law required that completed registration forms be submitted within 48 hours (groups previously had 10 days) and imposed strict fines for each late registration form. This requirement severely hampered the ability of nonprofits read more
Next week voters in Indiana, North Carolina, and West Virginia will head to the polls to vote on federal and state offices in addition to a number of ballot questions. (Visit Ballotpedia for more on what’s on the ballot in every state this year.) But before Tuesday rolls around, Why Tuesday uses a new infographic read more
The NAACP recently produced a report, “Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America,” that contextualizes the emergence of recent “block the vote” measures and explains their potential effects. The report examines a slew of legislative proposals, ballot initiatives, and voting laws that have been enacted or proposed: 14 states have passed 25 read more
