There’s been a lot of fighting the last several months about new restrictions on the right to vote. We learn that these laws, including voter ID, rules around registration, and limits on early voting disproportionately impact African Americans, Latinos, youth and other groups, many of which already have lower participation rates than the white population.
Malloy wrote in his veto message that he believed parts of the bill to be unconstitutional, potentially infringing on individuals' free speech protections under the First Amendment. Other parts of 5556, he argued, "represent poor public policy choices." He went on, "While I have advocated for transparency in the elections and campaign finance process for a long time, and could certainly support sensible reform in this area again, I cannot support the bill before me given its many legal and practical problems."
New York, NY -- Today, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy vetoed House Bill 5556, which would have strengthened Connecticut’s laws on disclosure of political spending. In response, Demos President Miles Rapoport, a former legislator and Secretary of the State of Connecticut, issued the following statement:
Citing clear evidence that low-income Arkansas residents have been denied the opportunity to register to vote, attorneys from voting rights groups Project Vote and Demos sent a pre-litigation notice letter to Secretary of State Mark Martin, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and the Arkansas Department of Health, regarding the state’s non-compliance with the federal requirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
Citing clear evidence that Alabama public assistance agencies are violating their federally-mandated responsibilities to offer tens of thousands of public assistance clients opportunities to register to vote, today attorneys from Demos, Project Vote, and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a pre-litigation notice letter to the Alabama Secretary of State on behalf of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP.
LAS VEGAS, Nev – On Monday, a coalition of national voting rights groups filed a Complaint against Secretary of State Ross Miller and Director of the department of Health & Human Services, Michael Willden in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts from their treasuries to influence elections, states have passed a variety of innovative measures to regulate corporate cash in elections, a new report by the Corporate Reform Coalition shows.
On April 19th, a coalition of national voting rights groups working on behalf of Georgia residents and advocacy groups secured a landmark settlement to ensure that voter registration opportunities are offered to all public assistance applicants, as is required by the National Voter Registration Act.
The report is timed to the two-day federal trial that starts tomorrow morning that will redraw Kansas’ legislative districts. If the Court were to adopt the House’s proposed map, Kansas would end up with a dubious distinction: having the nation’s most extreme instance of prison-based gerrymandering in a state legislative district.
The Boston Review recently hosted a forum titled, How Markets Crowd Out Morals, in which Michael Sandel wrote the lead essay, arguing that we as a society should be questioning which institutions we allow to be defined by market norms.
New York— Today, leaders in the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would dramatically expand Americans’ fundamental freedom to vote: the Voter Empowerment Act of 2012 (VEA). The far-reaching reforms reflect the importance of cutting through the needless red tape that is restricting too many eligible Americans’ ability to register and vote. Demos applauds the goals of co-sponsors Reps. John Lewis, James Clyburn, Steny Hoyer, John Conyers, Robert Brady, and Keith Ellison, among others.
Boston, MA – Citing clear evidence that the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) have violated their federally-mandated responsibilities to offer tens of thousands of public assistance clients opportunities to register to vote, a Massachusetts citizen and two community groups filed suit today for violations of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA).
Hartford, CT. – A coalition of good government groups including Common Cause, Demos, People For the American Way, Public Citizen, Credo Action and others are calling on Connecticut Governor Dannell Malloy to sign H.B. 5556, “Changes to Campaign Finance Laws and other Election Laws,” which just passed the General Assembly. The bill would require public disclosure of major corporate and individual donors to Super PACs and other independent groups, bringing increased transparency and accountability to Connecticut’s elections.
New York, NY - On May 5 2012, the Connecticut Senate passed legislation introduced by Governor Dannell Malloy, and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to enact Same Day Registration and online voter registration, effective July 2013 and January 2014, respectively. The bill, HR 5024, had been previously passed by the state House. It now heads to the governor’s desk for his signature, expected later this month.
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.