Ever since the selection of 2000, the rudiments of US democracy have been under attack. We still haven’t dealt with the multitudinous problems of electronic voting machines and now we have a concerted attack on registration and voting by the Republican Party and their affiliated organizations. Those who have built the engines for stealing elections, from registration to vote counts, will use them, this year and every Election Day from this time forward, if they can.
Here are some resources to stop them in their tracks and rebuild our ability to vote for every single citizen. It is not an exhaustive list but it is a start.
Protect your own vote and those of all your fellow citizens.
Common Cause
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4773589
The past several years have been marked by a wave of restrictive voting laws in the states, making it harder for eligible voters to cast a ballot. Despite the best effort of election officials and voter protection groups, voting – the foundation of our democracy – remains beset by problems.
The challenges are particularly acute as we approach the high-stakes 2012 presidential election. Voters will confront an array of technologies at the polls, and states’ abilities to catch voting system problems and protect voters from disenfranchisement due to equipment failure and other problems vary widely. In addition, some organizations are mobilizing their members to manufacture challenges to voters at their polling locations, believing that lower turnout will help their preferred candidates.
Common Cause is committed to working with elections officials and voters across the country to protect the vote.
Common Cause MA is looking for volunteers to help with poll watching and election protection: http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=8305173&en=ajLJIXNDJ9KSK7NGJ8LOJ9OXKkLML1OPLmJRL5NUItJ9E
League of Women Voters
http://www.lwv.org/our-work/improving-elections
Democracy only works as well as its elections processes. Right now voting rights are under attack and money in elections has never been higher. The League is fighting back against restrictive voter id laws and voter registration systems, and shorter early voting periods. All eligible voters should have an equal ability to vote.
Election Protection
http://www.866ourvote.org
The nonpartisan Election Protection coalition was formed to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.
Through our state of the art hotlines: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (administered by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) and 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (administered by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund), this website, and comprehensive voter protection field programs across the country, we provide Americans from coast to coast with comprehensive voter information and advice on how they can make sure their vote is counted.
ACLU
http://www.aclu.org/voting-rights
Modern day efforts to suppress voter turnout and registration have taken many forms including photo ID requirements; proof of citizenship requirements for registration; reducing the number of days for early voting; restrictions on third-party voter registration activities; limiting the opportunity to make an address change at the polls on election day; systematic purges of registered voters; challenges to student voters as non-residents; unfounded allegations of voter fraud; and moving or closing precincts in minority communities.
The ACLU is in courts and legislatures across the country challenging these voter suppression measures.
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
http://www.dscc.org/epp
The GOP strategy is simple: Suppress the vote, win the election. That’s why we’re launching the 2012 Election Protection Project, and we need you to stand with us.
SEIU Election Protection Smart Phone App
http://www.seiu.org/2012/08/election-protection-smartphone-app.php
The 2012 election cycle is in full swing and we want to make sure you have all the information you need in order to cast a ballot. The new Election Protection smartphone app gives you all you need to know about voting in the palm of your hand! The app is available in both English and Spanish will be available to iPhone, Android, and Blackberry users.
Project Vote
http://www.projectvote.org/election-administration/318.html
Project Vote’s Election Administration (EA) Program was created to respond to on-going problems that restrict Americans’ access to the democratic process. In 2012, Project Vote’s team of experts is working through research, litigation, advocacy, and field efforts to ensure that voter registration is accessible, effective, and enduring.
This year, with the presidential election looming, threats to accessible and accurate registration and voting systems are coming primarily from state legislatures, where legislators have unleashed a storm of bills that would make registration and voting more difficult. (For an overview of the current legislative environment, read Project Vote’s February 2012 research memo, Election Legislation 2012: Threats and Opportunities Assessment.)
Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project
http://vote.caltech.edu
Established by Caltech President David Baltimore and MIT President Charles Vest in December 2000 to prevent a recurrence of the problems that threatened the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election. Since establishment, members of the VTP have studied all aspects of the election process, both in the United States and abroad. VTP faculty, research affiliates, and students have written many working papers, published scores of academic articles and books, and worked on a great array of specific projects.
Report:
BULLIES AT THE BALLOT BOX: PROTECTING THE FREEDOM TO VOTE AGAINST WRONGFUL CHALLENGES AND INTIMIDATION
http://www.demos.org/publication/bullies-ballot-box-protecting-freedom-vote-against-wrongful-challenges-and-intimidation
Voting Rights News Sources:
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/voting-rights-watch-2012
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/votingrights
http://www.bradblog.com
Radio report from Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman who have been researching voting rights issues since before the 2004 election and the debacle in Ohio:
http://prn.fm/2012/09/10/green-power-wellness-bob-fitrakis-091012/#axzz2676o11Di
