Democrats Fighting Republican Hypocrisy on Voting Rights
While Bush Republicans in Washington claim to support voting rights, House Republicans this week passed a voter identification bill that threatens to disenfranchise countless minority, student, elderly, people with disabilities and low income voters. The bill is effectively a poll tax that will keep thousands of lawfully registered voters from participating in our democracy, which is why similar laws have already been struck down in states like Georgia and Missouri. A similar law in Indiana already kept eligible seniors and veterans from voting in this year's primaries.
Sadly, voter ID laws are just one way Republicans across the country are working to undermine the fundamental voting rights of Americans. From GOP efforts to purge rightful voters from voting rolls, to Republican election administrators who inconsistently administer election laws, use unreliable voting machines, and fail to adequately train poll workers, our fundamental voting rights are under assault. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and Donna Brazile, chair of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute, today issued the following statement:
"While the Do-Nothing Republican Congress has failed to keep the American people safe, implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations, or provide comprehensive immigration reform, they managed to find time to pass a harmful voter ID law that will disenfranchise countless American citizens. By passing a bill that will effectively impose a poll tax on thousands of lawfully registered seniors, students, minorities, people with disabilities and low income voters, Washington Republicans have once again put the interests of their party ahead of the interests of the country.
"Our democracy rests on the simple idea that every American has the right to vote and have confidence that their ballot will be counted. Republicans in Washington claim to support that right, yet they are pushing this shameful, discriminatory bill and refuse to take common sense steps to ensure public confidence in our election systems. If Republicans in Congress were serious about voting rights, they would stop short-changing the Help America Voter Act by $800 million, pass the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, and adopt the emergency legislation proposed this week by Senate Democrats to reimburse states for backing up electronic voting machines with paper ballots in this year's elections.
"Democrats are working to restore confidence in our elections. It's time for Republicans to end their hypocrisy on voting rights and join us in standing up for our democracy."
The following are key elements of the national Democratic voter protection strategy for 2006:
NATIONAL VOTER PROTECTION HOTLINE: The DNC established the national 1-888-DEM-VOTE hotline so voters all across the country can get information about how and where to vote and to report problems at the polls on Election Day;
PROVIDING ELECTION PROTECTION STAFF: National Democrats will place election protection staff in 18 key states and provide training and step-by-step Election Protection manuals to other states.
RECRUITING LEGAL ASSISTANCE ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY: The National Lawyers Council is recruiting 7,500 pro-bono lawyers and law students to support the DNC's election protection program. These lawyers will be placed in precincts to augment voter protection efforts at every level-including not just statewide office and Congressional races, but local and county races as well. These offices from state representatives to county sheriffs and judges will have a profound impact on the lives of real citizens throughout the year.
ADVANCING LEGISLATION FOR VERIFIED VOTING: The DNC will continue working with Congressional leaders, grassroots activists and state parties to build support for federal legislation to mandate a verified voting paper trail for voting machines that has been proven as the best method of securing votes.
FILING LITIGATION TO BLOCK LEGISLATION: The DNC will work with state parties to file litigation to prevent imposition of egregious photo ID and other Republican sponsored legislation that disenfranchise voters. This follows the successful partnership the DNC has undertaken with state parties pursuing legal challenges to, for example, Indiana's voter ID law and to the effort to investigate the criminal phone-jamming scheme in New Hampshire.
MONITORING STATE LEGISLATION: The National Lawyers Council and the Voting Rights Institute will continue to meet with top election law attorneys and monitor state legislative initiatives that have the potential to dilute the voting rights of key constituency voters. They are also updating manuals from the last election cycle to reflect new changes in election laws across the country.
