Voting Rights Institute

The DNC's Voting Rights Institute works to provided guidance and leadership on a variety of voting rights and election administration laws and polices as well as provide voter education information.  The Democratic Party advocates a voting process that is accessible and inclusive of all eligible voters. Under the leadership of its Chair, Donna Brazile, the Voting Rights Institute monitors developments in federal election law and lobbies for making voting more accessible.  "Democrats believe that the more people who vote, the better it is for our country," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean. "That is why we have the most comprehensive national election protection program, ensuring people can vote with confidence in all 50 states."  The Democratic Party is dedicated to ensuring that every voter has the information necessary to exercise his or her right to vote.  An important aspect of protecting this right is to know the rules and guidelines of voting.

Easy to Use Resources
Through the tools on the right, you can register to vote and volunteer for voter protection efforts.

Hotline: 1-877-US-4-OBAMA (1-877-87-4-62262)

By calling 1-877-US-4-OBAMA, voters can learn more about their rights, find their polling location, and report problems and get answers on Election Day.

This is your democracy. Know your rights.

Know Your Rights

· If you have problems, you are still entitled to cast a provisional ballot.
· If you are in line before the poll's closing time, you are entitled to vote.
· You are entitled to view a sample ballot at the polling place before voting.

Latest VRI News

GOP Dirty Tricks in Florida

September 18, 2008 - A new presidential election cycle, same old, Republican dirty tricks. An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times calls the mailings 'some of the sleaziest campaign tactics.'
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (2)

DEMOCRATS REAFFIRM THEIR COMMITMENT TO VOTING RIGHTS ON 42ND ANNIVERSARY OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT

August 8, 2007 - DNC Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following joint statement on the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Announces Unprecedented Election Protection Project

August 2, 2007 - Democrats to conduct nationwide survey of administration of elections as part of an ongoing commitment to protecting the rights of every American
Read More · Link to this Article

MUST READ: GOP Behind Voter Fraud Push

July 2, 2007 - An article in this weekend’s Miami Herald shows a clear connection between the Bush Administration, the GOP and voter suppression. According to the article Republicans have used their power and authority on three fronts, tax-exempt groups, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and US Attorneys to exaggerate claims of voter fraud and challenge the legitimacy of legal voters.
Read More · Link to this Article

No Such Thing As Blind Justice in Bush Justice Department

June 22, 2007 - An article in today’s Washington Post sheds new light on Republican efforts to politicize the Bush Justice Department by weeding out employees who were not considered loyal Republican foot soldiers. The article highlights the role of Acting Assistant Attorney General Brad Schlozman in the politically motivated hirings and firings in the civil rights division of the Justice Department.
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC: Bush Administration Owes Apology Over Assault on Voting Rights

June 1, 2007 - Donna Brazile, Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute, joined the Chairs of the DNC's Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, AAPI Caucus, Seniors Coordinating Council, and Native American Coordinating Council in condemning the Bush Administration's assault on voting rights and its politicization of the Department of Justice.
Read More · Link to this Article

Texas Election is Tomorrow

December 11, 2006 - The Supreme Court ordered the boundaries of the 23rd District redrawn after determining that the old map discriminated against Latino voters and did not comply with the Voting Rights Act.
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (2)

FL-13: What's Going On?

December 6, 2006 - In Florida's 13th District, Democrat Christine Jennings is still fighting to make sure that every vote is counted and every voter is heard - despite flawed ballots and machines. Almost a month after Election Day, this race is still being contested in the sunshine state.
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (7)

Vote

November 7, 2006 - DNC Chairman Howard Dean sent the following to Democrats this morning. Dear Friend, Today most people will simply vote and go home. That's not enough. Whether you're voting today or you've voted early or absentee already, what you do today...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (3)

Dean on MD Voter Challenges and OH Voter ID Developments

November 3, 2006 - The Washington Post reported today on a Republican effort to distribute a guide for GOP “poll watchers in Maryland [that] spells out how to aggressively challenge the credentials of voters and urges these volunteers to tell election judges they could face jail time if a challenge is ignored.” The Post's exposure of these GOP tactics, along with the Democratic Party's expansive voter protection program in all 50 states, will help ensure that every American’s right to vote is protected.
Read More · Link to this Article

1-888-DEMVOTE Flyers

October 26, 2006 - Every Voter Counts! Color Flyer English Color Flyer Spanish/English Color Flyer Download the file(s) above. This is a full color low resolution PDF file of the Every Voter Counts doorhanger design that can be easily printed off your home...
Read More · Link to this Article

Brazile: Missouri Voter ID Ruling Renews Importance of EAC Report Being Made Public

October 19, 2006 - This week, the Missouri Supreme Court dealt yet another blow to the Republican Party's efforts across the country to win elections by making it harder for Americans to vote. In a decisive 6-1 vote, the Missouri state court declared that the Republican-engineered voter ID law would have imposed a "heavy and substantial burden on Missourians' free exercise of the right of suffrage."
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile Calls on EAC to Release Study

October 13, 2006 - During her testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Donna Brazile called on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to release a report that proves there is little evidence of the polling-place fraud that is used to justify Voter ID around the country.
Read More · Link to this Article

Democracy at Risk: Protecting the Vote

October 11, 2006 - In many states, new laws restricting who can register and vote have reduced the number of people who are eligible to cast ballots. Most of these laws have been enacted in the name of preventing fraud. Yet, a new report to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which has not been released publicly, disputes the basis for those laws, finding, "little evidence of the type of polling-place fraud those measures seek to stop."
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (5)

Democrats Ground Game Strong Heading Into Final Month

October 10, 2006 - This past Saturday Democrats kicked-off the final month of the election with more than 600 voter contact activities across the country. Democrats contacted three million voters during the DNC's third national organizing day, demonstrating the strength of the Democratic ground game heading into the final days of the campaign.
Read More · Link to this Article

Democrats United: Kick-off Final Month of Campaign Activities Saturday

October 6, 2006 - On Saturday, October 7, Democrats will kick-off the final month of voter contact activities at Democratic National Organizing Day events across the country, building on the success of ongoing critical Get-Out-the-Vote operations for Election Day.
Read More · Link to this Article

Democrats Fighting Republican Hypocrisy on Voting Rights

September 29, 2006 - 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.
Read More · Link to this Article

Support The "Confidence in Voting Act of 2006"

September 28, 2006 - The November 7th mid term congressional and statewide elections are around the corner -- and fears and concerns about the integrity of our electoral system and the security of paperless electronic voting systems have increased daily.
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (14)

Ballot Controversy in Ohio

September 1, 2006 - This week, voting rights activists in Ohio filed a federal lawsuit demanding that Secretary of State Ken Blackwell preserve the paper ballots from the 2004 election and that a court-appointed supervisor be selected to oversee the conduct of this November’s...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (7)

MUST READ: GOP Tactics Aim to Suppress Vote

August 10, 2006 - An editorial in today's New York Times outlines how Republicans in Missouri and other states are using discriminatory voter ID laws to suppress voting and disenfranchise minorities, poor people, and elderly people who are less likely to have driver's license.
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Marks the 41st Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act

August 7, 2006 - DNC Marks the 41st Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act Washington, DC—Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement on the 41st anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act:
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Announces Expanded National Voter Protection Effort

August 3, 2006 - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today announced the DNC's expanded national voter protection efforts. In addition to the establishment of a national voter protection hotline and the placement of election protection staff in 15 key states, the DNC is implementing a comprehensive series of efforts aimed at helping Americans register to vote, learn how and where to cast their ballot, and provide assistance in overcoming Republican-led efforts to suppress voter turnout for the November elections.
Read More · Link to this Article

MUST READ: Republican Justice Department Plays Politics with Americans Right to Vote

August 3, 2006 - An editorial in today's New York Times outlines how the Bush Justice Department is playing partisan politics again with the enforcement of voting rights and election law. Yesterday, a federal judge, appointed by President Bush, stripped Alabama's Democratic Secretary of State of very important duties in "a one-sided proceeding that felt a lot like a kangaroo court," giving them to the Republican governor prior to both being up for re-election. This extraordinary, partisan step against a Democrat stands in stark contrast to the Justice Department's "forgiving approach" when dealing with Republican Secretaries of State. Despite President Bush's signing of the Voting Rights Reauthorization just last week, this action is part of his administration's troubling pattern of putting its desire to influence elections ahead of the need to protect the voting rights of all Americans.
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Voting Rights Institute on CA-50 Special Election

July 14, 2006 - For several weeks since the June 6th Special Election in California’s 50th Congressional District there have been reports of election irregularities. The DNC Voting Rights Institute (“VRI”) has been monitoring the developments since Election Day and has raised a number...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (25)

Victory for Voting Rights

July 13, 2006 - The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization passed the House 390-33 on Friday. All four Republican Amendments were defeated. This is a huge victory for Democrats, who fought to keep the protections in the VRA intact. A group of vocal southern Republicans staged a revolt - arguing that certain provisions should be removed. All present Democratic members of the House voted to re-authorize.
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (15)

GOP Divided On Protecting The Right to Vote

July 13, 2006 - In an intensely competitive election year, this was supposed to be the issue virtually everyone in Congress could agree on: renewing civil rights-era laws protecting minorities' access to the ballot box. A group of increasingly vocal Capitol Hill conservatives is staging a revolt - arguing that certain provisions of the law are out of sync with party principles.
Read More · Link to this Article

Rep. Sanchez: Renew the Landmark Voting Rights Act

July 12, 2006 - The Voting Rights Act is as important to a healthy and accountable democracy as any other act in United States history. Let's renew the VRA without destructive amendments and be a model for democracy around the world.
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (13)

DNC Statement on Court Ruling to Block Georgia's Restrictive Voter ID Law

July 10, 2006 - Today Democratic National Committee Communications Director Karen Finney issued the following statement in response to a Georgia Superior Court ruling blocking Georgia's restrictive voter ID law. "We applaud the decision of the Fulton County Superior Court to recognize, in the...
Read More · Link to this Article

MUST READ: Don't Dismantle the Voting Rights Act

July 7, 2006 - An op-ed in today's New York Times by the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson's daughters says that Congressional Republicans are disabling the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by allowing critical voting safeguards to expire such as Section 5 that protects voters in areas with histories of discrimination and Section 203 which requires language assistance to promote voting by citizens with limited English proficiency. Just as President Johnson stood up to members of his own party to pass the VRA, it's time for Republican leaders to stand up to the right-wing extremists in their party to protect the Constitutional right to vote for every American.
Read More · Link to this Article

Donna Brazile Discusses Republican Assaults on Americans’ Voting Rights

June 30, 2006 - This week, the DNC's Podcast hosts Donna Brazile, Chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute. Donna Brazile discusses the Republican assault on Americans' voting rights including the Republican controlled Congress stalling action on the Voting Rights Act, one of the most significant civil rights statutes ever enacted.
Read More · Link to this Article

Ohio Republicans Undermine Democracy By Curtailing Voter Registration Efforts

June 29, 2006 - The Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute's Chairperson Donna Brazile issued the following statement on Ohio's Joint Committee for Agency Rule Review's decision to uphold restrictive voter registration rules.
Read More · Link to this Article

Dean Statement on Georgia Voter ID Ruling

June 29, 2006 - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement in response the U.S. Department of Justice pre-clearance of the implementation of Georgia's voter ID law.
Read More · Link to this Article

Voting Rights Act, Southern Style

June 26, 2006 - Alabama's Huntsville Times features a story today about the Voting Rights Act. The author makes the point that the South became a major focus of the VRA because discrimination in the South was so widespread. Of course the bill focuses...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (13)

24 Hours Of The Real Republican Agenda: A Triple Threat to America's Values

June 22, 2006 - Over the last 24 hours, Congressional Republicans have made very clear their real agenda for the American people. Congressional Republicans are running away from tough decisions and instead are desperately pandering to their base to improve their political standing in November.
Read More · Link to this Article

DNC Chairman Howard Dean on Voting Rights Act

June 22, 2006 - DNC Chairman Howard Dean released the following statement after House Republicans stalled action on the renewal of the Voting Rights Act.
Read More · Link to this Article

Inside the Voting Rights Summit

June 20, 2006 - I'm sitting next to Christine Pelosi in the Voting Rights Summit. We are both furiously taking notes (hers are better, which I attribute to going through law school...) as we listen to Commissioner Gracia Hillman of the Election Assistance Commission...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (12)

In the Building: Election Protection Summit

June 20, 2006 - Today the DNC's Voting Rights Institute and National Lawyers Council are holding an Election Protection Summit. This day-long event has brought together voting rights activists, litigators, scholars, Democratic Party leaders and election administrators to dicuss comprehensive stategies to advance fair...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (6)

Republicans Slash New Orleans Security and Disaster Preparedness Grants

June 1, 2006 - As a present on the first day of Hurricane Season, Republicans have cut in half grants for security and disaster preparedness in the city of New Orleans. This comes as residents of New York City and Washington DC (myself included)...
Read More · Link to this Article · Comments (29)

Convicted Phone-Jammer To Run Campaign School

May 25, 2006 - The Union Leader reported today that convicted phone-jammer and former New Hampshire Republican Party Executive Director Charles McGee is inviting Republican political operatives to a campaign school that will teach them "all the tools you need to win."
Read More · Link to this Article

McConnell Proposes Mandatory Intrusive National ID

May 23, 2006 - Republican Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposed, for the first time ever, a federal requirement that all Americans must present proof of citizenship at the polls. If McConnell has his way, American citizens would be required to have a passport or national identification card, just to be able to exercise the most fundamental and basic right in our democracy - the right to vote.
Read More · Link to this Article

New Orleans Election Information on Early Voting and Election Day

April 28, 2006 - All eligible Orleans Parish voters who registered on or before September 24th, 2005 can vote at any one of the satellite voting sites around the state (call the Secretary of State’s toll free hotline for your registration date, 1-800-883-2805): Note:...
Read More · Link to this Article

Frequently Asked Questions - New Orleans General Election

April 26, 2006 - What are the Deadlines to Register to Vote in the Upcoming Elections? Open Primary Election is September 30: The deadline to register is August 30, 2006. Open General/Congressional Primary Election is November 7: The deadline to register is October 9,...
Read More · Link to this Article

Voter Assistance New Orleans

April 10, 2006 - In an effort to help displaced New Orleanians exercise their right to vote, the DNC announced a new toll free number, 1-888-DEM-VOTE or 1-888-336-8683, which provides New Orleanians now living in Louisiana and neighboring states critical information about voting.
Read More · Link to this Article

Information for Displaced Voters

March 31, 2006 - In an effort to help displaced New Orleanians exercise their right to vote, the DNC announced a new toll free number, 1-888-DEM-VOTE or 1-888-336-8683, which provides New Orleanians now living in Louisiana and neighboring states critical information about voting.
Read More · Link to this Article

Frequently Asked Questions - New Orleans

March 30, 2006 - What are the Deadlines to Register to Vote in the Upcoming Elections? Primary Election on April 22: The deadline to register has expired General Election on May 20: The deadline to register is April 19 (Learn how to register...
Read More · Link to this Article