Showing posts with label registering. Show all posts
Showing posts with label registering. Show all posts

Monday, April 20, 2009

Send the 2008 Election Protection Report to Congress and ask them to modernize our voter registration system

TOLEDO, OH - OCTOBER 1:  A woman looks over he...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From:
Election Protection



During the 2008 election cycle, Election Protection provided assistance to more than ½ a million voters through our 866-OUR-VOTE voter services hotline, our interactive web tools, and our extensive field programs. The stories of those voters, together with our extensive and on-going dialogue with hundreds of state and local election officials as well as the experience of our leaders, partners and volunteers on the ground form the basis for our preliminary report, Election Protection 2008: Helping Voters Today, Modernizing the System for Tomorrow.

As Election Protection’s report demonstrates, voters across the country still face unnecessary barriers to the polling place at each stage of the electoral process. Voters were turned away because they did not receive their absentee ballots or because poll workers did not understand the provisional balloting system. They stood in excruciatingly long lines and lost votes on malfunctioning voting machines. Cynical attempts to prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot through deceptive practices were reported in a disturbing number of states and took on a 21st century character, utilizing text messages, social networking sites like Facebook and email. But the single largest cause of the problems on and before Election Day is our antiquated and cumbersome voter registration system.

One of Election Protection’s leaders, Jonah Goldman, testified on Wednesday, March 11, 2009 in front of the Senate Rules Committee about the urgent need to reform our antiquated registration system. We’re starting to get Congress’ attention, but they have a lot on their plate. Our leaders need to hear from everyone who wants to see fair elections become a priority in Congress. Click here to send the 2008 Election Protection Report to Congress and ask them to act to modernize our voter registration system!

Click here to read the2008 Election Protection Report

Click here to readJonah Goldman's Testimony


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, October 18, 2008

US Rep. Conyers protests FBI's leaked investigation of ACORN


NEW YORK - OCTOBER 09:  Over a dozen members o...Image by Getty Images via DaylifeGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From:
OMB Watch

[US Rep. Conyers delivers a powerful appeal to the FBI concerning their leaked investigation of ACORN. -David Weller]

Voter Fraud?

Posted by Amanda Adams

Friday, October 17, 2008


It would be impossible to ignore the news surrounding the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, a grassroots community organization that advocates for low and moderate income people and has traditionally been active in registering low income voters. The group has had clear and unacceptable organizational troubles, for example, a relative of one of its leaders embezzled funds from the group. However, on the issue of voter registration, ACORN admits that some of its hired canvassers have turned in forms with fake names, but they say these represent only a tiny fraction of the new voters the group signed up.

After news that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opened an investigation into ACORN, Representative John Conyers☼ (D-MI) wrote a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller and Department of Justice Attorney General Michael Mukasey concerned that such a leak about an ongoing criminal investigation is inappropriate.

The letter states, "Moreover, this news is all the more troubling in light of the proven wrongdoing at the Justice Department in the United States Attorneys scandal. As you are aware, there is extensive evidence that political operatives improperly pressured United States Attorneys to investigate and prosecute spurious claims of voter fraud in close proximity to an election. When some did not, they were terminated.

"In any case, undeniably some faulty voter registration forms were submitted, but does this result in voter fraud? Even if the voter registration forms are forged, these fake people or even Mickey Mouse will not show up to the polls to vote. Therefore no ballot will be cast, and it will not affect the outcome of an election. And yes, those who submit fraudulent voter registration cards should be punished.

"Instead of worrying about fake and unqualified voters from going to the polls, we must ensure that every registered eligible voter can cast ballots that count. For example, the Brennan Center for Justice recently issued a report on the practice of voter purging. The report found that 700 people were removed from the voter lists in Muscogee, Georgia, supposedly because they were ineligible to vote due to criminal convictions. Some of the people removed never even received a parking ticket. Careless purging, possibly rooted in concerns about voter fraud, may lead to such aggressive practices where qualified voters are mistakenly removed from the rolls.

"A New York Times editorial agrees, and urges the government do "a better job of registering people to vote. That way there would be less need to rely on private registration drives, largely being conducted by well-meaning private organizations that use low-paid workers."


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Court: Hundreds of thousands of Ohio vote registrants could be purged from the rolls for typos


SAN FRANCISCO - FEBRUARY 5:   Michelle Orengo-...Image by Getty Images via DaylifeGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From:
Brennan Center for Justice

[We, the people apparently have no say in the potential outcome of a large swing state this November 4th. -David Weller]

For Immediate Release



NEW YORK - We heard a lot last night about Joe the Plumber, but did you know that a recent court ruling last night threatens the ability of thousands like Joe to have their votes counted? According to today's Toledo Blade, he is Joe Wurzelbacher of Shrewsbury Street in Springfield Township in Lucas County, Ohio.

As the Blade notes, many thought Joe was not a registered voter. Turns out there was likely a misspelling in the Lucas County Board of Elections database. From the Blade: "Linda Howe, executive director of the Lucas County Board of Elections, said a Samuel Joseph Worzelbacher, whose address and age match Joe the Plumber's, registered in Lucas County on Sept. 10, 1992. He voted in his first primary on March 4, 2008, registering as a Republican. Ms. Howe said that the name may be misspelled in the database."

Politico's Ben Smith makes the connection that if Joe registered this year, he could be purged from the rolls under a 6th Circuit Court ruling on Tuesday.

That's because on Tuesday, following a lawsuit by the Ohio republican party, the court ordered Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to disclose to local election officials the names of 200,000 new registrants whose names didn't match with state motor vehicle or federal Social Security databases. This list could be used by local election officials and party operatives to prevent these voters from casting ballots that will count. As Secretary Brunner knows and the Brennan Center demonstrated in the brief, almost all mis-matches are the result of typos and administrative errors--like in Joe's case.

The Brennan Center is urging Ohio's election officials to take immediate steps to ensure that a failed match standing alone does not result in a voter being purged from the voter rolls, challenged at the polls, or forced to cast a provisional ballot that may not be counted.

Secretary Brunner is vigorously opposing this ruling and has asked the Supreme Court to block it.

"To save tens of thousands like Joe from disenfranchisement by typo, Ohio election officials need to make clear that no voter will be denied registration, removed from the voter rolls, challenged at the polls or relegated to voting a provisional ballot solely because of a failed computer match, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the voter is not eligible," said Wendy Weiser, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center and author of Making the List, a study of the perils of voter database matching.

The unreliability of the matching process has been repeatedly proved. After Florida implemented new matching rules on September 8th of this year, approximately 15% of all attempted matches failed; upon investigation, the vast majority of these failed matches have since been determined to be the result of typos and similar errors. A detailed audit of failed matches in New York City in September 2004 similarly found that more than 80% of failed matches were caused by errors by election officials in processing voters' applications-almost all the others were caused by immaterial mistakes by voters, like writing their drivers license number in the Social Security field. Across the country, match failure rates have ranged from 15%-30%. In Ohio, there were more than 200,000 failed matches out of 660,000 voter registrations this year.

"Both candidates went out of their way for Joe the Plumber last night. The least Ohio can do is make sure that Joe and people like him are able to vote and have their votes counted," concluded Weiser.

"One purported remedy, voting with a provisional ballot, is no remedy at all. A very high proportion are not counted. Worse, forcing tens of thousands of Ohio voters to cast provisional ballots will create needless chaos at the polling place on Election Day," said Michael Waldman, Executive Director of the Brennan Center.

"Joe the Plummer is not committing voter fraud, and neither are the hundreds of thousands of other voters who would be kicked off by this misguided effort to suppress the vote," said Waldman.

Brennan Center on the web: http://www.brennancenter.org/

30-30-30


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Swing states abusing law on verifying voter registrations


Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From:
TPM Muckraker

As state officials scramble to rebut claims of voter purging and blocked registrations made in a recent report, they're also revealing their missteps. Officials in two swing states have admitted that they are double -- and sometimes triple -- checking new voter registrations, which could lead to eligible voters voters being turned away from polls.

In North Carolina, one of the states fingered in the New York Times investigation published yesterday, Gary Bartlett, director of the Board of Elections defended his state's handling of new voter registrations, claiming the BOE was verifying both drivers license numbers and social security numbers if new voters provide both on their application.

In Indiana, a swing state that has also had a large uptick in requests to the SSA for voter registration verifications, Matt Tusing, the deputy secretary of state and a Republican, told the Indianapolis Star that Indiana officials have been verifying the Social Security number on every card, as wells as running checks with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Correction and death records.

"Some states don't check against all those sources," he told the paper.

In both cases, that's far more verification than is required under federal law, and the superfluous checking of both numbers could lead to eligible vote registrations not being verified -- something that could disproportionately affect Democrats, who have registered in higher numbers this year.

According to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, states must exhaust checks in their own identification databases -- like drivers licenses and ID cards -- before turning to the often unreliable federal database with the Social Security Administration. Yesterday's Times report alleges that states like Colorado have been improperly relying on the SSA to verify voter registrations.


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Friday, October 10, 2008

Right to vote concerns for ex-criminals can be met



Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.

From:
Brennan Center for Justice

By Garima Malhotra – 10/09/08

"This is the most important election you will ever, ever have voted in, any of you, since 1932," stated Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden during the Vice Presidential debate last week. Perhaps more than any in recent history, this year reminds us why the right to vote matters. But as a new report by the Brennan Center and ACLU points out, unfortunately a significant barrier to voting persists for a large group of eligible voters—elections officials across the country continue to give incorrect information about voter eligibility for people with criminal convictions.

Appropriately titled De Facto Disenfranchisement, the Brennan Center and ACLU report documents interviews conducted with hundreds of local elections officials in 15 states to determine how well they know their respective state felony disenfranchisement policies. The results are eye-opening and not very reassuring. Half the election officials interviewed in Colorado did not know that Coloradans on probation could vote, in a state where 46,000 people are currently on probation. Half the officials interviewed in Arizona did not know that their state law provides a process for people with more than one conviction to have their voting rights restored. Such widespread confusion among election officials could result in the de facto disenfranchisement of untold hundreds of thousand of eligible voters on Election Day.

But I am an optimist. Despite recent deadlines, in 29 states there is still time to get the correct information out there and ensure eligible voters can and do exercise their right to vote.

What can be done? For the states with registration deadlines just a few days away, there is an immediate need for education for local elections officials. Education or outreach is the only way we can correct the misinformation and inform citizens that in fact they are eligible to vote even if they've been told they are not. Now is the time to ensure that all citizens can exercise their fundamental rights as Americans.

Looking forward provides more opportunity for reform, and more reason for optimism. Rejected citizens rarely make a second attempt to find out about their voter eligibility. Receiving wrong information could discourage people not only from voting in this election, but in future elections as well. But a few common sense policy initiatives, like simplifying the law so all states restore voting rights to people automatically as soon as they are released from prison could prevent persistent confusion. In fact, Senator Feingold (D-WI) and Representative Conyers (D-MI) recently introduced the Democracy Restoration Act to do just that.

De Facto Disenfranchisement also recommends regular training of election officials and criminal justice officials on the law; notice provisions so that ex-offenders are familiar with their rights; and information sharing among criminal justice and election agencies. There is still hope, and for November, there is still time.


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Republican Party's ACORN 'voter fraud' lie ramped up with state police raid


Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: BRAD BLOG

Blogged by Brad Friedman on 10/7/2008 4:30PM

Ramping up their scheme to paint ACORN's successful work registering millions of low-incoming voters as "voter fraud", the GOP's propagandists and democracy-haters hit a PR jackpot with a 'stunt' raid in Vegas. But the truth about ACORN, which the voting villains don't want you to know, is that it is the community organization itself which alerts election officials to concerns about possible registration fraud...


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Reminders on registering to vote


Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From:
FairVote

Reminder on Voter Registration Deadlines

That a quarter of Americans are not registered to vote as state deadlines approach points to value of universal voter registration

We are only halfway through the presidential debate season, yet by Tuesday — fully four weeks before the general election — about half of unregistered Americans will no longer be able to register to vote. As a nation, we lag far behind nearly every other well—established nation with voter registration, with more than a quarter of eligible voters not registered to vote. If every registered voter participated this November, we still would be low in the rankings in international voter participation.

So please, make sure you are registered to vote and make sure your friends are registered. Do not assume — verify!

More broadly, it is time for us to join the full democratic world where the government and citizen both take responsibility for ensuring that every eligible voter is registered — and only registered once. FairVote is pioneering proposals to ensure all young people are registered before reaching voting age, and is collaborating with organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice and the New America Foundation on ensuring every eligible voter has the tools to participate in their democracy.

Voter Registration Resources:

  • Rock the Vote guide to voter registration [HERE]
  • Google guide to voter registration and polling place locations [HERE]
  • FairVote talking points, sample letters and reports on voter registration, focused in particular on ways to register all young people reaching voting age: [HERE]
  • The Brennan Center for Justice draft policy proposal on universal registration [HERE]

>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

States are purging millions of voters in secret, often erroneously


SAN FRANCISCO - FEBRUARY 5:   Michelle Orengo-...Image by Getty Images via DaylifeGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: Brennan Center for Justice

Study Finds States Purging Millions of Voters in Secret, Often Erroneously

10/01/08
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tim Bradley, BerlinRosen Public Affairs, (646) 452-5637

Brennan Center Reveals Wild Inconsistencies in Maintenance of Voter Registration Lists—Issues Public Records Requests in 12 States with Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law


New York – Today the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law released one of the first systematic examinations of voter purging, a practice—often controversial—of removing voters from registration lists in order to update state registration rolls—click here for report. After a detailed study of the purge practices of 12 states, Voter Purges reveals that election officials across the country are routinely striking millions of voters from the rolls through a process that is shrouded in secrecy, prone to error, and vulnerable to manipulation. Upon the release of Voter Purges, today the Brennan Center and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law began filing public records requests with election officials in 12 states in order to expose the purges that happened this year.

"Purges can be an important way to ensure that voter rolls are dependable, accurate and up-to-date," said Myrna Pérez, counsel at the Brennan Center and the author of the report. "Far too frequently, however, eligible, registered citizens show up to vote and discover their names have been removed from the voter lists because election officials are maintaining their voter rolls with little accountability and wildly varying standards," Myrna Pérez stated.

pull quoteAccording to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, between 2004 and 2006, thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia reported purging more than 13 million voters from registration rolls. While the secret and inconsistent manner in which purges are conducted make it difficult to know exactly how many voters have been stricken from voting lists erroneously, Voter Purges finds four problematic practices with voter purges that continue to threaten voters in 2008: purges rely on error-ridden lists; voters are purged secretly and without notice; bad "matching" criteria mean that thousands of eligible voters will be caught up in purges; and insufficient oversight leaves voters vulnerable to erroneous or manipulated purges. The report reveals that purge practices vary dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, that there is a lack of consistent protections for voters, and that there are often opportunities for mischief and mistakes in the purge process.

"The voter rolls are the gateway to voting, and a citizen typically cannot cast a vote that will count unless his or her name appears on the rolls. Purges remove names from the voter rolls, typically preventing wrongfully purged voters from having their votes counted. Given the close margins by which elections are won, the number of people wrongfully purged can make a difference. We should not tolerate purges that are conducted behind closed doors, without public scrutiny, and without adequate recourse for affected voters," said Wendy Weiser, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center.

[...]


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Critical Social Security Admin. computers to go offline during voter registration peak


Seal of the United States Social Security Admi...Image via WikipediaGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: AlterNet


By Wendy Weiser, Brennan Center for Justice
Posted on September 25, 2008

A recent alert by the Social Security Administration announces that the agency plans to shut down its databases for maintenance from October 11 through October 13. While this might not sound like an election issue, it turns out that this could significantly impede registration of first-time voters as well as the re-registration of eligible citizens.

Here's why. A 2002 federal law, the Help America Vote Act, requires all states to "coordinate" their voter registration databases with the Social Security database (and state motor vehicle databases) for the purpose of processing new voter registration forms. For the millions of voters who do not have current driver's licenses and register using the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, state election officials are required to try to match their voter registration information against Social Security records. But if the Social Security database is down—as it will be for four days—they won't be able to do that. Across the country, the processing of these voter registration forms will grind to a halt for four days.

Normally, a delay of three days would not have a major impact. But this delay is scheduled to take place three weeks before the November 4 election—a time when election officials in every state will be scampering to try to process the millions of new voter registrations they receive. With only 25 days to process millions of new voter registrations, while doing dozens of other things to prepare for what is shaping up to be the highest turnout election in decades, a loss of three days can spell disaster.

Even without this delay, there are already significant concerns that our overworked and under-resourced election officials will not be able to process all the new voter registrations this year in time for the election. Voter registration numbers are skyrocketing. Election officials are already feeling the strain, and it will only get worse. In every election, there is a huge spike in voter registrations in the period right before the voter registration deadline. Florida, for example, typically receives between 13 and 20% of its new voter registrations in the week before the deadline. In short, this shutdown is planned for the worst possible time, a time when every minute counts.

If the shutdown goes as planned, it will seriously impair the ability of states to process new voter registrations before the November 4 election. Who would this impact? New voters, as well as people who re-register because they have moved, who do not have state-issued driver's licenses or non-driver's IDs. Those citizens are disproportionately older, African-American, and low-income, studies show.

Fortunately, the solution to this potential disaster is easy: postpone the shutdown until after the election. And next time, look at the calendar before deciding when to turn off a database relied on by millions.

(Editor's note: On Tuesday, September 23rd, Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and chairwoman of the Senate committee overseeing elections, wrote to the Social Security Administration, asking the agency to defer its database maintenance until after the November election.)

Wendy Weiser directs the Brennan Center’s work on voting rights and elections. During the run-up to the 2004 and 2006 elections, she masterminded litigation and advocacy efforts that kept hundreds of thousands of voters from being disenfranchised.

© 2008 Brennan Center for Justice All rights reserved.



>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

This is National Voter Registration Month- do your part today!


Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: League of Women Voters

Join the League of Women Voters' VOTE411.org Registration Challenge

The countdown to Election Day has begun! With less than five weeks left until deadlines in many states, are you, and your friends and family registered to vote?

Join the League of Women Voters' VOTE411.org Registration Challenge! Send this e-card to FIVE coworkers, friends and loved ones and encourage them to register by visiting www.VOTE411.org. VOTE411.org is the one-stop-shop for all your election needs. And with our online registration tool, absentee ballot and overseas voting information, registering to vote has never been easier.

This election is an important one for our country and the outcome is in your hands. Register to vote today and remember to head to the polls November 4th!

REGISTER HERE


Sincerely,

Mary G. Wilson

Mary G. Wilson
President, League of Women Voters of the United States



>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Support National Homeless & Low Income Voter Registration Week, Sep. 21-27, 2008


DENVER - AUGUST 22:  A college student fills o...Image by Getty Images via Daylife Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: National Alliance to End Homelessness

September 21-27, 2008 is National Homeless & Low Income Voter Registration Week

Another important election year is approaching and we hope you will join us in ensuring everyone’s voice is heard. The National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, and the National Low Income Housing Coalition are honored to invite your organization to participate in National Homeless & Low Income Voter Registration Week on September 21-27, 2008 by hosting a voter registration drive or promoting voter education and participation.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and the National Low Income Housing Coalition hosted a National Audio Conference to discuss plans for this week. Listen to a recording of the call.

Also, the National Coalition for the Homeless has made available “You Don’t Need A Home To Vote, a toolkit on conducting voter registration, education and mobilization.

Information on National Homeless and Low-Income Voter Registration Week
Since equal access to the right to vote is a crucial part of maintaining a true democracy, nonprofits and service agencies nationwide will dedicate the week towards registering homeless and low-income individuals to vote. For those unable to conduct voter registration drives, the week can also be used to educate community members on the upcoming general election.

As another organization dedicated to homeless empowerment and economic justice, we hope you will join us in this effort. With your support, we are confident we can reach more individuals not yet registered to vote.


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Announcing the "Help is on the web for voters" free-to-share widget from All Things Reform


All Things Reform now has a free-to-use, free-to-share widget for voting help. The November 4th General Elections are coming upon us, and we need all of the know-how to vote and make sure we are counted. This easy-to-use widget, called "Help is on the web for voters", is located in the lefthand column of this blog. And sharing it on your own site or blog is just as easy-- just click the "Share" button on the bottom of the widget and specify where you want it to go.

Here is a great viral opportunity to share with the American citizen all of the facts they may need to know in order to vote and be counted. Check it out now, and spread the word!



>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Voter registration drive guides for all 50 states and D.C.


Government reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: National Campaign for Fair Elections

The Lawyers' Committee and its pro bono law firm partners have compiled comprehensive third-party voter registration guides for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These guides will help volunteers, organizers, and leaders navigate the complex rules that govern voter registration in each state. Please keep in mind, these guides are designed for informational purposes only.

. >All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear .

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, July 24, 2008

New Mexico passed one of this nation's most restrictive voter registration laws


We periodically receive newsletters from a wide variety of government reform news sources; the organizations focus on only the major events within their respective areas of expertise. Here is a selection from a recent email newsletter:
From Brennan Center for Justice
http://bit.ly/3OSNjA

Friends,

I wanted to keep you all in the loop regarding an important filing we made this morning. The Brennan Center brought a lawsuit against the state of New Mexico. We did this because the state passed one of the most restrictive voter registration laws in the country, one with such severe penalties that it threatened to shut down voter registration drives and disproportionately block minorities from voting in the 2008 election.

You can find the press release and filing here.

And a link to the mention on Politico here.

This is just one clear example of why our country needs universal voter registration: to make democracy work better and to ensure political operatives can't shut eligible citizens out of the process.

Please help us spread the word. If you have friends in New Mexico, let them know we're working on their behalf. Forward this email. Ask them to sign up for our Voter Registration Action Network -- they should understand what's at stake -- and help us with this push to make voter registration a key part of our national agenda. We'll need people on the ground, in the state, ready to reach out to bloggers and pen letters to newspapers -- we won't be able to do it alone.

Here is the link for our Voter Registration Action Network.

Thank you for passing this along. Remember, if laws keeping people from the polls can be passed there, they can happen anywhere.

Sincerely,

signature

Thaddeus Kromelis

Brennan Center for Justice | Web, Communications & Strategy


. --- > All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi > Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) > US House/ US Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members > Contact your representative tips: bit.ly/dear --- .

Friday, January 25, 2008

Check the directions for your state's presidential primaries

NASS (National Association of Secretaries of State) has a 2008 Presidential Primary Info webpage, listing each state's primary dates and caucus/primary, open/closed, voter registration deadline, early voting info, delegate allocation and polling hours. Check your state out right now, to make sure you're prepared to go to the polls on your primary day (if it hasn't occurred yet).

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Visit VOTE411.org to prepare for the Primaries in your state!

The LWV (The League of Women Voters) is reminding eligible voters to make sure they are registered for the upcoming Primaries elections. Each state has it's own date for nominating candidates for each office, from both major and minor political parties, for the General elections in November, 2008. LWV has a website for your preparation for both election days-- it is VOTE411.org. Please make sure you are a registered voter, and an informed voter this election year by visiting the comprehensive voter assistance site at VOTE411.org.

NOTA BENE: For voter services for US Citizens Overseas and Uniformed, please check out the Overseas Vote Foundation.