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.
This case study follows the Texas Organizing Project as it worked to build power and equity for working-class Black & Latino communities in greater Houston after Hurricane Harvey—ultimately implementing a winning 3-part inside-outside strategy.
Everything about this law is thoroughly anti-democratic and designed to silence Black and brown people as the number of Floridians of color who are eligible to vote increases.
This country’s sordid history of anti-voter discrimination—particularly against Black and brown voters—warrants scrutiny of practices that make it harder for eligible voters to cast a ballot.
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.
This case study follows the coalition For Us Not Amazon (FUNA) and members of the Athena Coalition as they organized to prevent one of the biggest corporations in the world from taking over the civic, social, and political life of Northern Virginia and beyond.
"Ensuring that all eligible South Dakotans, particularly Native Americans who have been systemically disenfranchised by the state, have the right to vote puts us a step closer to realizing a more just, inclusive, democracy.”
In spite of the obstacles, the people of Georgia organized, knocked on doors and cast their ballots — resulting in the surge toward this runoff. Over the next month, it is imperative that every single eligible Georgian turnout and make their voices heard at the polls.
“In their genesis, they’re about preventing Black people in the South from voting. So especially in our pursuit of a multiracial, inclusive democracy, these laws can’t exist.”
"All Floridians — including non-citizens — have the right to participate in the work of building a better democracy through civic engagement. Our clients have been empowering the communities they serve through civic engagement for years."
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.