Proposal to Expand Funding for Low-Income Students; Increased Access to Federal Loan Program
New York, NY — Demos, a national, non-partisan, public policy and advocacy organization, in partnership with twelve national organizations representing students, colleges, consumers, and college administrators, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday calling for increased investment in college affordability and reducing financial barriers for entry into post-secondary education.
Lawful Use of Same-Day Registration No Basis for Voter Witch-Hunt
XENIA, OH — Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Stephan Haller and Sheriff Gene Fischer abruptly announced they were dropping an investigation into same-day registrants last week, after Demos and other voting rights advocates warned that their actions appeared to violate federal voting rights protections.
Columbus, OH — Demos and other voting rights advocates filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio today urging the court to protect Ohio voters against unlawful purges on the eve of the presidential election. The Ohio GOP has asked the court to require mass purges of voters who have registered since January 1, 2008, if last-minute "matching" process shows any discrepancy between voter registration and motor vehicle records.
New Report by Demos Underscores Survey Findings, Showing Sharp Rise in College-Related Costs and Debt; Access for Minorities
WASHINGTON, DC — The rising cost of college is a critical, yet largely overlooked concern of voters this election year, according to a new National Education Association (NEA)/ Project New West survey. It finds that a majority of voters believe a college education is necessary to make ends meet in today's global economy but feel that struggling middle class families don't get the help they need to pay for it.
Groups Call for Senate to Quickly Pass "Veterans Voting Support Act"
Washington, DC — Hundreds of thousands of veterans would have widespread and direct access to voter registration services through Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offices under a landmark bill that was passed by the House of Representatives yesterday, the Veterans Voting Support Act (H.R. 6625), introduced by Rep. Robert Brady. A companion bill sponsored by Senators Diane Feinstein and John Kerry (S. 3308) may be acted on by the Senate in coming days.
Advocates Call for Passage of Feinstein and Kerry's "Veterans Voting Support Act"
New York — In response to the Department of Veterans Affairs' decision to modify its policy barring voter registration activity in VA facilities, today the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Brennan Center for Justice, Common Cause, Demos and the League of Women Voters submitted a letter to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein calling the VA's directive an important but still inadequate step towards protecting the voting rights of veterans.
New York, NY--Demos, a national public policy and research organization, is making a wide array of research and experts available to the media for interviews on issues central to Election 2008--from the mechanical challenges of the election process to economic and social issues driving voters' choices at the polls.
Election Day Registration (EDR), which allows eligible voters to register and cast a ballot on Election Day, is a reform that reduces the unnecessary disfranchisement of eligible voters that may be caused by arbitrary registration deadlines.
New York, NY — Today, Miles Rapoport, President of the national public policy center Demos, sent a letter of support to Senators Clinton, Feinstein, Leahy, Schumer, Kerry, Wyden, Reid, Murray and Obama for their sponsorship of S. 3308, introduced in the Senate on July 22, 2008. This legislation would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to permit facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs to be designated as voter registration agencies, in accordance with the National Voter Registration Act.
Demos and The Center for American Progress Publish New Studies
Washington, DC — Today's young adults are feeling the impact of a massive shift in the U.S. economy — changes that are documented in a new data report from Demos and an analysis of public opinion polling by The Center for American Progress. The studies were announced today with a press teleconference.
Leading National Advocacy Organizations File Suit to Enforce Federal National Voter Registration Act
Kansas City, MO — The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and St. Louis resident Dionne O'Neal have filed a federal lawsuit today charging that the state of Missouri has failed to provide voter registration services to clients of state public assistance agencies, as required by the federal National Voter Registration Act ("NVRA"). The NVRA is a federal law enacted in 1993 to ensure all Americans have access to voter registration services.
Ninth Circuit Makes Final its Ruling that Vote-Swapping Websites Are Entitled to First Amendment Protection
New York — The Ninth Circuit has confirmed an important First Amendment victory for operators and users of political websites, denying California's petition for rehearing en banc in Porter v. Bowen. Today's order leaves standing an August 2007 ruling by a three-judge panel that the First Amendment protects so-called "vote-swapping" websites from threats of criminal prosecution by government officials.