Honoring the Past, Paving the Future: Enhancing Voter Registration 22MAI23

 DON'T wait for 2024 to get here to become involved in the 2024 local, state, congressional and presidential elections. Right wing extremist, American fascist, racist, misogynist, patriarchist, oligarchs and theochrist are working together through elections to take over local governments (town councils, county supervisors, mayors), school boards, library councils and boards, elected law enforcement, because by controlling these local offices and organizations they can then determine who is elected state governor and to the state legislature and then who is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and ultimately who is elected U.S. President. This is not a left wing extremist exaggeration, book banning, abortion restrictions and bannings, restrictions of trans medical procedures, restrictions of voting rights and other civil liberties are a threat to our democratic Republic. We must work together to keep America the democracy we love. Go to Rock The Vote to check your voter registration or register to vote. This from the ACLU.....

Honoring the Past, Paving the Future: Enhancing Voter Registration

Here’s how federal agencies can further expand voting access.

May 22, 2023

Sarah Brannon,
she/her/hers,
Managing Attorney,
ACLU Voting Rights Project

Last week marks the 30th anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a landmark piece of legislation that has expanded access to the ballot for millions of Americans.

Signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993, the voting rights law strengthened American democracy. From enabling eligible voters to simultaneously register to vote when they apply for or renew a driver’s license, to offering voter registration opportunities via mail-in application opportunities, the NVRA helps make the promise of democracy real. The NVRA has been an amazing success. As of 2020, 160,000 million Americans have applied to get on the voter rolls through registration services the NVRA requires at departments of motor vehicles, disability offices, and public agencies across the country.

Although we’ve made great progress in expanding access to voter registration, it is important to remember we still have so much work to do to expand voter registration access. In 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to increase access to voting, encouraging federal agencies to utilize an untapped provision of the NVRA that contemplates federal agencies providing voter registration services. Since this announcement, several federal agencies have made public commitments to increase access to voting information and expand voter registration opportunities.

However, there is much more that can be done, not only to embrace the whole-of-government approach encouraged by the executive order, but also the unfulfilled promise contemplated since 1993 in the NVRA to include the federal government in agency registration opportunities. Earlier this year, the ACLU along with a coalition of the nation’s leading civil rights groups released a report, “Strengthening Democracy: A Progress Report on Federal Agency Action to Promote Access to Voting,” to highlight, at the federal agency level, what has been done and what is still needed to help ensure every eligible voter has robust, easy, and equal access to the ballot box.

A few agencies have made noteworthy headway. For example, by accepting National Voter Registration Act designations for the tribal institutions it operates, the Department of the Interior has moved to ensure that eligible students who attend these institutions have regular access to high-quality voter registration.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has also begun working with state election officials to secure NVRA designations. And by incorporating voter registration into the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, the Treasury Department is helping to address persistent income-based gaps in voter registration by improving access to voter registration among people with low incomes.

Although progress has been made, for the most part, the ACLU and our partners found that most agencies have either made minimal progress on their initial strong commitments to expand voter access or have left important opportunities on the table. This must change; we must make the promise of democracy real for every single American.

Here are a few things federal agencies can do now to fully implement the executive order:

• The Department of Health and Human Services should add an effective voter registration opportunity to the application for benefits on HealthCare.gov by the next open enrollment period.
• United States Citizenship and Immigration Services should provide a robust opportunity to register to vote to all newly naturalized U.S. citizens.
• The Department of Education should add a voter registration opportunity for applicants using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
• The Bureau of Prisons, the agency within the Department of Justice which oversees federal prison facilities, and the U.S. Marshals Service, which oversees people in federal pre-trial custody, amongst other activities, should also fully implement the executive order. While both agencies have made efforts to improve voter access for eligible voters who are currently incarcerated in federal prisons or held in federal pre-trial custody, there is still more that can be done to ensure the full implementation of systems facilitating civic engagement and access to the ballot. You can read more about the steps they can take here.

As we honor the 30th anniversary of the NVRA, we must never allow the indispensable legacy of this pivotal voting rights law to fade into the past. Simultaneously, the Biden administration must embrace an unwavering dedication to wholeheartedly executing their voting access executive order. Such action not only fortifies our democracy but also empowers millions, ensuring their voices are heard through the power of the ballot.

BREAKING: Voting rights loss at SCOTUS & Supreme Court says yes to voter purges, giving Republicans another way to rig elections & Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Voting Rights and Invites More States to Purge Their Rolls 11JUN18

THE right wing fanatics of the republican party have worked for years to impose voter registration and voting restrictions  restrictions on minorities, the poor and students because these are generally Democratic voters. The have claimed rampant voter fraud in past elections, NOT MY pres drumpf/trump and his neo-nazi administration along with fascist republican state and federal politicians claim there were millions of fraudulent Democratic votes cast in the 2016 presidential election. They have NEVER been able to prove any of these mass voter fraud claims, most of these claims have been disproved. The republican's voter restrictions are moving forward and becoming law because they have been successful in getting weak, spineless jellyfish democrats to approve ultra conservative neo-con judges to the judiciary, fascist like neil gorsuch to the US Supreme Court (AFTER sen mitch mcconnell r KY denied Pres Obama's nominee to the court, Merrick Garland, a vote in the US Senate). Democrats need to block ALL nominations before the Senate until the new US Congress is sworn in after the November midterm elections. From the ACLU and Mother Jones.....

The Supreme Court just rubber-stamped Ohio's voter suppression tactics in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. The decision gives Ohio the power to target voters who miss just one election cycle for removal from the rolls. This is despite the National Voter Registration Act's express prohibition on purging voters just because they don't vote. I'm furious, but I'm more driven than ever to defend our most fundamental right. This decision is a gutting reminder that the Trump administration is determined to turn back the clock on our voting rights. For decades, the Justice Department maintained this type of voter purge was illegal, but under the Trump administration and Attorney General Sessions, the department switched sides and supported Ohio's unnecessary restrictions on the right to vote. In the face of roadblocks to the polls, we must exercise our right to vote now more than ever. We must vote for leaders who will make voting easier – not harder. We must vote like our rights depend on it. Pledge now to be an ACLU Voter this election cycle. Under Ohio's "Supplemental Process," if you miss just one election cycle, you risk losing your voter registration. The state wrongly assumes that voters who don't cast a ballot in two years have changed addresses, invalidating their current registrations. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Ohioans have been stripped of their right to vote, and many only find out when they arrive at the voting booth. And like every barrier to voting, people of color and those with low incomes are disenfranchised the most. Let's be clear: Our right to vote isn't 'use it or lose it' – and this decision doesn't give states a green light to kick eligible voters off the roll without notice. We must do everything we can to defend our most fundamental right – by showing up to vote this fall. Our democracy is strongest when every voice can be heard, when every eligible citizen can cast a ballot and have it counted. Pledge to be an ACLU Voter so that we can continue to exercise this fundamental right and make voting accessible for all. Thanks for defending our democracy, Anthony D. Romero ACLU Executive Director Supreme Court says yes to voter purges, giving Republicans another way to rig elections  The Supreme Court dealt yet another blow to voting rights on Monday, this time giving states the go-ahead to purge their voter rolls, a practice that disproportionately targets Democratic-leaning populations and in particular people of color: The case hinged on interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a 1993 civil rights law intended to increase voter registration and participation. But in recent years, some conservative activists began using certain provisions of the law to force states to more aggressively purge their rolls. Those provisions govern what’s known as “list maintenance,” and their stated purpose is to remove people who have moved or passed away. But election officials instead sometimes use list maintenance to remove eligible voters—particularly poor ones and people of color—because they haven’t voted frequently enough. [...] The court’s 5-4 decision is likely to resurrect an era that the NVRA was meant to end. The practice of purging voters dates back more than 100 years. Just as today, it was justified as a necessary tool to thwart fraud and maintain the integrity of elections. But in practice, it was often used to suppress the votes of those who might not support the party in power. The result of the aggressive purges was that Americans participated in elections at a far lower rate than citizens of other Western democracies. And low election participation rates is just what Republicans want—so Republican-controlled states will doubtless take this anti-democratic Supreme Court decision and run with it, giving Republicans yet another advantage in an increasingly rigged system. Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Voting Rights and Invites More States to Purge Their Rolls The court sided with Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, who had aggressively removed infrequent voters from the rolls. PEMA LEVYJUN. 11, 2018 10:14 AM The Supreme Court dealt a big blow to voting rights Monday, in a decision that is likely to green-light aggressive purging of voter rolls across the country. The case originated in Ohio, where the Republican secretary of state manages an aggressive program of removing infrequent voters from the rolls. The effect of this effort is that thousands of eligible voters are removed from the rolls, and strong evidence suggests that the policy causes minorities in heavily Democratic areas to be purged disproportionately. People who are removed are not informed, so they’re often unable to re-register before an election takes place, and lose their ability to vote.  The case hinged on interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), a 1993 civil rights law intended to increase voter registration and participation. But in recent years, some conservative activists began using certain provisions of the law to force states to more aggressively purge their rolls. Those provisions govern what’s known as “list maintenance,” and their stated purpose is to remove people who have moved or passed away. But election officials instead sometimes use list maintenance to remove eligible voters—particularly poor ones and people of color—because they haven’t voted frequently enough. The state of Ohio sends a notice every year to voters who have not cast a ballot in the previous two-year cycle. Voters are asked to respond to the notice, update their registration online, or vote sometime in the next four years. If they do none of these things, they are removed from the rolls, ostensibly in an effort to prevent voter fraud by removing ineligible names. The issue before the court was whether this process violates the NVRA’s prohibition on removing voters because of their failure to cast a ballot. The conservative majority, in an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, found it did not, because it doesn’t rely solely on a person’s failure to vote, and because the provision does allow states to consider people’s voting history in their efforts to locate ineligible voters. But the majority did not grapple with the effects of the policy.  The result of the policy is that voting becomes harder for thousands of people, particularly minority and poor citizens. Reuters analyzed Ohio’s three largest counties and found that people in Democratic-leaning neighborhoods were removed at twice the rate of people in Republican areas, and that “neighborhoods that have a high proportion of poor, African-American residents are hit hardest.” The court’s 5-4 decision is likely to resurrect an era that the NVRA was meant to end. The practice of purging voters dates back more than 100 years. Just as today, it was justified as a necessary tool to thwart fraud and maintain the integrity of elections. But in practice, it was often used to suppress the votes of those who might not support the party in power. The result of the aggressive purges was that Americans participated in elections at a far lower rate than citizens of other Western democracies. Purges were often more aggressive in Southern states, particularly after the civil rights movement removed other barriers, such as poll taxes, for African Americans to cast ballots. The NVRA was meant to solve this problem, and it specifically prohibited states from removing people from the rolls “by reason of the person’s failure to vote.” In a fiery dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor accused her conservative colleagues of ignoring the ramifications of their decision and the history of discrimination behind voter purges like Ohio’s. “Congress enacted the NVRA against the backdrop of substantial efforts by States to disenfranchise low-income and minority voters,” she wrote. In allowing Ohio’s program to continue, the court is “sanctioning the very purging that Congress expressly sought to protect against.” Until the NVRA, states used annual registration requirements and purges that, Sotomayor noted, kept turnout low among African Americans and immigrants. And Ohio’s program, she wrote, likewise had a disproportionate effect on minority and poor voters, as well as disabled voters and veterans.  In fall 2016, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Ohio’s policy violated this NVRA provision. The ruling forced Ohio to reinstate 7,500 voters it had purged in time for the 2016 elections. But the Supreme Court’s majority opinion overrules the lower court’s decision. The Justice Department opposed Ohio’s practice during the Obama administration. But it reversed its stance under Attorney General Jeff Sessions—one of many voting rights cases in which the Trump administration has come down in favor of making it harder to vote. In recent years, Republican activists have sought to weaken other core provisions of the NVRA. Kris Kobach, Kansas’ Republican secretary of state and the public face of the conservative movement to limit access to the polls, has drafted legislation to amend the NVRA so that he and other election officials can require people to provide proof of citizenship in order to register—a move that would once again have an outsized impact on low-income and minority citizens. FIGHTING DISINFORMATION As President Trump and his acolytes ramp up their efforts to distort the truth and discredit the Mueller investigation, you can see how urgent our new priority to build a team focused on exposing disinformation will be. If you're fed up with the lies coming from Washington and proliferating on social media, help us push back with a tax-deductible donation today. We still need to raise about $140,000 by June 30 so we can bring on a full-time reporter and a data scientist to dig deep on disinformation—who's behind it, how it spreads, and how we can counter it—before this fall's midterms. Please don't sit this one out. Join us and your fellow MoJoreaders today. DONATE NOW PEMA LEVY Pema Levy is a reporter at Mother Jones. Reach her at plevy [at] motherjones [dot] com. RELATED The Supreme Court May Be Poised to Green-Light Mass Voter Purges PEMA LEVY AND ARI BERMAN The Supreme Court Is About to Hear a Case That Could Unleash a New Wave of Voter Purges PEMA LEVY