Attorneys from Demos, Project Vote, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a pre-litigation notice letter on Monday to the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth charging that the state is failing to provide low-income residents with a legally-mandated opportunity to register to vote.
A coalition of national voting rights groups have secured a landmark settlement with the State of Georgia to ensure that voter registration is offered to all public assistance applicants.
New York – In advance of Earth Day, a new research brief from non-partisan public policy organization Demos sounds a wake up call for policymakers and voters: “The Economic and Environmental Impacts of Climate Change in Florida” lays out how Floridians’ health, economy, and environment are already suffering the effects of climate change and how continued inaction on climate change promises dire consequences in the coming decades.
New York – In advance of Earth Day, a new research brief from non-partisan public policy organization Demos sounds a wake up call for policymakers and voters: “The Economic and Environmental Impacts of Climate Change in Arizona” lays out how Arizonans’ health, economy, and environment are already suffering the effects of climate change and how continued inaction on climate change promises dire consequences in the coming decades.
New York – In advance of Earth Day, a new research brief from non-partisan public policy organization Demos sounds a wake up call for policymakers and voters: “The Economic and Environmental Impacts of Climate Change in Nevada” lays out how Nevadans’ health, economy, and environment are already suffering the effects of climate change and how prolonged inaction on climate change promises dire consequences in the coming decades.
New York – With millions of Americans in danger of being disenfranchised this fall by new and unneeded voter identification laws, a report issued today outlines how state and local organizations can stand up for democracy by helping voters secure the necessary ID.
On Friday, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell signed a new law that will give more rural counties the option of avoiding prison-based gerrymandering, helping to ensure fairer representation for incarcerated Virginians. The law, HB13, passed both Houses unanimously. It was sponsored by Delegate Riley Ingram (R-Chesterfield, Henrico, Prince George, City of Hopewell).
NEW YORK - Yesterday, civil rights legend John Payton passed away suddenly, stunning the civil rights and voting rights community. Demos issued the following statement to honor his historic work and the legacy he leaves behind:
The law, known as Part XX, was passed in 2010 to increase fairness in redistricting by counting incarcerated people as residents of their home districts. The previous practice, often called prison-based gerrymandering, gave extra political influence to districts containing prisons, diluting the votes of every resident of a district with no (or fewer) prisons.
New York, NY --Miles Rapoport, President of Demos, and former Connecticut Secretary of the State, commended current Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill for championing Same Day Registration and other improvements in voting and elections.
By enacting H.B. 5024, Connecticut would become the 10th state to permit eligible citizens to both register and vote on Election Day and/or during the early voting period.
A Vermont Partnership Bank will generate new revenue for Vermont, save local governments money, and make our small businesses, farms and consumers less vulnerable to cutbacks in lending in our state.
By passing this proposed constitutional amendment, and laying the groundwork to enact SDR, Maryland would become the 10th state to permit eligible citizens to both register and vote on the same day.
NEW YORK - The New York Court of Appeals today declined to hear plaintiffs’ direct appeal in Little v. LATFOR, a lawsuit challenging New York’s law ending prison-based gerrymandering.
Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Demos released a new analysis of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs. The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.
D.C. – This Wednesday, February 8th, Demos and U.S. PIRG are holding a press call to release a new and comprehensive analysis of Federal Election Commission data on Super PACs, from their advent in 2010 through the end of 2011. This new report, “Auctioning Democracy: The Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 Election,” details FEC data findings, lays out actionable recommendations for all levels of government, and provides vivid new infographics (for use with attribution) that illustrate the damage dealt by Super PACs.
Virginia legislators are considering several bills that would make it more difficult for eligible persons to cast a ballot that will be counted, and would impose large costs for implementation. One bill requires photo identification in order to vote, while others require one of an enumerated list of identification documents. If the voter does not have identification he must sign a sworn statement of his identity and then cast a provisional ballot.
La Constitución de los Estados Unidos requiere que los distritos electorales sean aproximadamente iguales en tamaño para que todas las personas tengan la misma representación en el proceso político.
Judge Pannell ruled that, contrary to Georgia's practice, the NVRA requires that public assistance agency clients be provided with the opportunity to receive a voter registration application every time they apply for or renew benefits or submit a change of address.
NEW YORK – On the eve of the release of new GDP numbers, Demos is publishing a new report challenging the dominance of GDP in the nation’s economic and policy debates. Beyond GDP: New Measures for A New Economy illuminates the limits of a measurement that shows economic growth, as the 2011 numbers will likely indicate, against the backdrop of an ongoing national economic crisis.