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NAACP Voter Fund
In 2000, the NAACP created the National Voter Fund (NVF) as it sought dynamic new ways to aggressively communicate its views on critical social issues of the day regarding voting rights. NVF was established as a free-standing 501C (4) corporation to engage in civic participation and community-based mobilization efforts through education and awareness campaigns surrounding key issues in communities of color.
NVF subsequently created Americans for Equality (AFE), a Section 527 political organization. AFE supplements NVF efforts in support of civil rights, voting rights, and other issues of importance to African-American voters. AFE activities include non-partisan get-out-the-vote programs, research on incumbents and candidates, issue advocacy, and grassroots lobbying.
Blog Posts from NAACP Voter Fund
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who joined us at the 2012 State Summit this week -- we hope you found the panels helpful. We look forward to an exciting 2012 and welcome any suggestions you might have to make the next State Summit even better!
Summit is Almost Here!
The America Votes 2012 State Summit is only days away. Don't miss your chance to be a part of one the most important gatherings of progressives in 2012. Check out the State Summit page here.
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Senate Hearing on Voter ID
A subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, lead by Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) held a hearing today on new state laws across the country that restrict access to the ballot, including Voter ID laws and laws cutting down on the days and times for early voting. America Votes President Joan Fitz-Gerald filed written testimony for the hearing, which can be read here.
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) was the first in-person witness. He spoke about the new state laws in Florida that will make it more difficult for groups to register voters and will restrict the days and times that citizens will be able to vote early. He said emphatically that, "we ought to be encouraging people to vote..."
Senator Sharrod Brown (D-OH) spoke about his time as Ohio Secretary of State from 1983-1990, when elected officials took up bipartisan measures to expand the voter rolls and make voting more accessible, not restrict the ability to register and vote. Speaking of voter fraud, he testified that, "a voter has no incentive to game the system and vote five times to swing an election."
He also pointed out that more restrictive laws being passed in Ohio this year supercede prior election law passed by a Republican legislature and a Republican governor.
He concluded his testimony by saying, "we know we've made progress on this issue, why should we go back?"
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) spoke about the new voter ID bill in Texas, where 30-40% of voters, disproportionally minorities, do not have a driver's license and the restrictive new voter ID law will specifically require a driver's license to vote. The DMV does not seem equipped to handle to influx of applications, as the legislature allocated no new funds to handle the incoming.
Judith Brown Dianis, Co-Director of The Advancement Project, pointed out that the new voter ID laws could cost up to $30 million across the country. Not only that, but it is also difficult for many, especially older voters, to produce the needed documents to get an ID.
Voter supression continues across the country
Voter suppression efforts by governors are picking up across the country, all supposedly in the name of reducing voter fraud when in reality these laws are just reducing the number of voters who can easily access the ballot. Governor John Kasich of Ohio signed an elections reform bill into law at the beginning of July that added numerous restrictions to voting as well as allowed poll workers to refuse to tell voters where they can vote.
- Early voting by mail would be cut to 21 days under the Republican plan.
- The new law would ban early voting by machine anywhere except at county elections offices.
- The legislation also would forbid counties from mailing unsolicited absentee-ballot applications to voters
These restrictions would mean that 4 out of every 10 voters in Columbus alone would not have been able to vote when and where they did in 2008.
In addition to these limitations in Ohio, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin signed a similarly restrictive bill into law earlier this year requiring Wisconsin voters to present a photo ID, making it harder to vote for groups like elderly voters, young voters, students, minorities and low-income voters. Now that he has signed that law, Walker is making it even harder on voters by finalizing a plan to close up to 10 offices where people could have obtained photo IDs. All of these efforts are working to suppress the vote and trying to reshape the electorate in time for the 2012 elections rather than encouraging more people to have their voices heard.
Voter suppression becoming an increasing problem as voters prepare for 2012
Politicians are supposed to serve as representatives of the people who pick them through election. However, with current laws that are being passed attempting to crack down on voter fraud, the politicians are trying to hand-pick their electorate instead. In the Washington Post this weekend there was a great opinion piece discussing the numerous laws from voter ID to eliminating election day registration and the goals behind conservative disenfranchisement of millions of voters. Read more here.
Restrictive voter laws sweeping the nation
In efforts to supposedly eliminate voter fraud, there has been a large wave of legislation limiting voters' access to the polls come election day. Whether it's through voter ID laws or cutting down on early voting, many GOP-led state legislatures are passing laws that inhibit many different voting blocs from coming out to vote.
While cracking down on voter fraud is the stated motivation, there have rarely been any proven instances of it, indicating some other reason leading to these new laws. Millions of Americans don't have a government-issued photo ID; furthermore 13 million individuals don't have readily available citizenship documents. And just as percentages of early voters increase, empowered by the flexibility to vote when they have time, different laws across many states are limiting that time period. "In Ohio, voting early on Sundays is on the chopping block and absentee voting also looks to be shaved down. In Wisconsin, Governor Walker signed a bill that drastically cut back on early voting periods and Governor Scott in Florida did the same." In addition, there are also fights to end Election Day registration in states that have adopted it. Those states usually have 10-12% higher turnout rates than the national average.
By limiting the number of voters, conservatives is trying to cut down the effects of progressive "get out the vote" efforts, since they proved effective in 2008. Unfortunately this means the disenfranchisement of millions of voters who won't be able to have their voices heard due to these new laws across the country.
"We Are One" Day of Solidarity
America Votes and its partners across the country will take part in a number of events today and continuing throughout the week to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s trip to Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to stand with sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. The workers were trying to form a union with AFSCME. On that trip, Dr. King was assassinated. The pictures below are from today's rally in Washington, D.C.:
