National Voter Registration Day
In an email, Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz shared the Democrats' four-point strategy for winning elections in 2013, 2014 and beyond and encouraged supporters to get involved.
Friend --
I just got back from the DNC summer meeting in Arizona, so I thought I'd let you in on our strategy for the upcoming year and beyond (because I'm really excited about it).
We have a four-pronged plan for the coming year:
Recruiting and training top talent. Our party is only as strong as the people in it. So we're going to focus on identifying great candidates for state and local offices, training organizers across the country, and helping talented young people from all backgrounds break into politics through our Hope Institute program.
Maintaining and building our digital edge. A big part of the reason we won last year is because our online program and tools were light years ahead of the Republicans. But that's the thing about cutting-edge technology -- it stops being cutting-edge pretty quickly. We're not going to rest on our laurels. We're going to work hard to maintain our edge while developing the next generation of tools.
Expanding access to the ballot box. Every single thing we do as a party centers on our most fundamental right as Americans -- the right to vote. You've seen Republicans across the country restrict that right by taking advantage of the recent Supreme Court decision to gut the Voting Rights Act. And we're going to be fighting back by launching a national voter protection program.
Holding Republicans accountable and promoting the Democratic agenda. You've heard Republicans talk a lot about how they're "rebranding" their party and agenda to be more inclusive after last year's election. But if you've been paying attention to the policies they're supporting, you've noticed that they've only gotten more extreme. We're going to make sure they don't get away with that bait-and-switch.
Many people are going to work very hard to make sure this plan succeeds, but I have to be straight with you: a main factor in its success or failure will be whether we have the resources to pull it off.
Chip in $10 or more today and make sure we can put our plan into motion:
https://my.democrats.org/Our-Strategy
This is a winning plan -- and I can't wait to get to work on it with you, because we saw last year what we're capable of.
Thanks,
Debbie
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Chair
Democratic National Committee
P.S. -- You've seen what we can do when we get this organization operating at its peak -- let's do it again.
Voter suppression isn't just happening in North Carolina. It's happening in Republican-led states all across the country.
Governor Scott is back at it. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, Governor Scott announced he is taking another shot at purging Florida’s voter rolls of ‘noncitizens.’
Just to be clear, we’re talking about Republican purging efforts botched so badly that Governor Scott himself had to vote by provisional ballot in 2006 because the purge had determined he was dead.
Seriously.
You’d think that would have been a wake-up call that this sort of purging is deeply flawed and unnecessary.
Governor Scott and his Republican Administration claim this is simply an effort to suppress voter fraud, but Floridians know better. This shameful attempt to shrink the electorate was highly controversial in the months leading up to the 2012 presidential election, when the Department of Justice sued the state of Florida for attempting to disqualify thousands of voters less than 90 days before an election.
The ability to cast a vote and have one’s vote counted is central to the functioning of our democracy. But too often, Republicans have systematically turned how ballots are cast into a manufactured issue in swing states across the country. Too often, these Republican-led so-called anti-voter fraud efforts are nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to disqualify voters that reek of politics.
Such is the case in Florida. Of the 180,000 potential noncitizens identified for purging in 2012, less than 0.02% were actually ineligible. Nearly 60 percent of those included in the initial list were Hispanic – meanwhile, Hispanic voters make up only 13 percent of Florida’s electorate.
Unfortunately for Governor Scott and national Republicans, Florida’s voters won’t be fooled again. Attempts like what is now happening in Florida, and what is happening in many states across the country, go against the spirit of our democracy and are exactly why Congress must answer President Obama’s call to restore the Voting Rights Act to its full authority.
In honor of the 48th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, DNC Vice Chairwoman, Donna Brazile penned this op-ed on the need to protect voting rights. Read the excerpt below and visit www.votingrightsmatter.com to learn more.
"On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signedthe Voting Rights Act and said, "There is no room for injustice anywhere in the American mansion."
"In the 48 years since its enactment, the Voting Rights Act has helped secure the right to vote for millions of men and women in our country – dismantling the injustice of preventing eligible citizens from casting their vote — and our democracy has been made stronger for it. But now the promise and purpose of the Voting Rights Act is in jeopardy.
"I'm not naïve enough to believe the Voting Rights Act rooted out all injustice — after all, I saw firsthand what my sister had to go through voting in Florida in 2000 — but we know from experience the Voting Rights Act has provided a critical step forward for millions of African American and other voters.
"Too many voters in our American family overcame many obstacles, and in some cases gave their lives, to obtain the right to vote — a sacred right that cannot and should not be put at risk."
On this day, 145 years ago, the 14th Amendment became the law of the land — addressing citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws. And while it was was far from perfect, the amendment was the first step in making it illegal to deny the right to vote based on race.
The 14th amendment had big implications. It ignited the suffrage movement, ended segregation in our schools through Brown vs. Board of Education and provided the justification for Reynolds v. Sims — the landmark Supreme Court decision that established voting as a fundamental right. As the court explained, "The right to vote freely for the candidate of one's choice is of the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of representative government."
But even with these amendments and rulings, there was and still is voter discrimination and disenfranchisement. Poll taxes, literacy requirements and most recently voter ID laws — These are all tactics that have been deployed to restrict voting rights to certain populations. And some states have a stronger history than others. I know. I saw it first-hand as a little girl growing up in Louisiana.
That's why the Voting Rights Act is so important. It made real the promises of the 14th Amendment and held states accountable for acts of voter suppression by requiring federal approval of any measures that could limit and restrict voting rights. But sadly, the Supreme Court's recent ruling dismantled a key provision of the law. But what's worse is the speed at which Republicans are moving to pass restrictive voting laws in the aftermath of the decision.
These actions aren't just bad for the constituents they represent, they directly violate the principles our country was founded on and are a slap in the face to anyone who's ever fought for voting rights.
As we commemorate the implementation of the 14th amendment today, let's take a minute and remember its intention — to expand access to voting to EVERY American. Let's fix the Voting Rights Act and stop voter suppression wherever it exists.
Jim HimesYes. By law“@karenbuc: @cspanwj @jahimes Rep. Himes: Will Congresspeople use the fed exchange or those available in your home states?"
9m
Louise SlaughterICYMI: Louise and @maddow set the record straight on the #GOPShutdown & more GOP legislative games nbcnews.to/1eZvD5Y #ROC
13m
Chaka Fattahmedindia.net/news/zinc-defi…'>medindia.net/news/zinc-defi… medindia.net/news/zinc-defi…'>medindia.net/news/zinc-defi…
44m
Rep Donna F EdwardsGOP renegades: release your leaders & put a clean CR on the floor. Fund all agencies, restore all services, return all workers 2 jobs.
49m
Connecticut DemsRT @cpdamico22: I'm saving $271.19 a month with #Obamacare on my monthly healthcare bill! #thanksmrpresident
33m
Virginia DemocratsWatch it here live! RT @C_Herring: It's not too late to catch @LoudounChamber debate #VAAGDebate loudounchamber.org/live
40m
DPNMHouse Republicans Continue to Play Political Games with Government Funding nblo.gs/PEQjW
1h
DPNMWelcome to Day Two: Health Insurance Marketplaces Are Open for Business nblo.gs/PEQjX
1h