A new report by the Brennan Center and the Campaign Finance Institute shows that public campaign financing could bring greater fairness and diversity to New York state elections. Through an analysis of census blocks, Donor Diversity through Public Matching Funds found that dramatically more city residents from diverse backgrounds participated in New York City elections under a small donor matching fund system. Specifically, almost 90 percent of the city’s census block groups were home to small donors to 2009 City Council candidates in contrast to two-thirds that did not house any small donors to 2010 State Assembly candidates. Watch a short video presentation of the report’s findings.
States Shouldn’t Divert Foreclosure Funds
Lawmakers in 15 states have chosen to divert funding from a federal foreclosure settlement. In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer just signed a state budget that transfers $50 million from the settlement to a general fund to balance the state budget. This not only violates the legal terms of the settlement agreement, it ignores smart fiscal policy, Mark Ladov and Meghna Philip wrote in the Arizona Republic. “Experience shows that foreclosure prevention is a smart investment in our hardest-hit communities, which will lift state budgets and our national economy,” they said.
Machine Error Causes Thousands to Lose Their Vote
Overheated voting machines may have caused over 30 percent of votes in a South Bronx precinct to go uncounted in 2010. Recent tests found the machines misread ballots and cast “phantom votes” when they malfunctioned. A 2011 Brennan Center report found that tens of thousands of ballots in the 2010 New York state elections were voided after voters marked too many choices and didn't understand machine warnings. The Center filed a lawsuit predicting that machine error could lead to disenfranchisement. That suit later led to finding the South Bronx precinct where votes were invalidated.
Video: Michael Waldman on Restrictive Voting Laws
Brennan Center's Michael Waldman appeared on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews to discuss Pennsylvania's requirement that voters show government-issued photo identification. “This looks like voter suppression to me,” Matthews said to Waldman. Matthews also spoke out against restrictions on the right to vote and calls for a bipartisan move to stop older, poorer and minority voters from being disenfranchised. See video on our new Election 2012 page.
- The Mean-Spirited, Massive Drive to Cut Down the Vote, State by State
(Nieman Watchdog, 05/16/12) - 5 Voting Laws That Make People Angry
(Huffington Post, 05/15/12) - The Narrowing of Tarek Mehanna’s Liberties Has Consequences for Us All
(The Huffington Post, 05/15/12) - Study: Matching Funds Up Donor Diversity in NYC
(WNYC, 05/15/12) - Public Financing Leads To Diverse Donors
(Capital Tonight, 05/14/12) - We Told You So: Newfangled Voting Machine Screwed Up
(New York Daily News, 05/14/12) - Civil Rights Groups Launch Voter Registration Drives Earlier
(USA Today, 05/11/12) - Electronic Voting 2012: Here We Go Again
(American Public Media, 05/11/12) - Ladov and Philip: Halting Foreclosure is Good Investment
(The Arizona Republic, 05/10/12) - Machine Casts Phantom Votes in the Bronx, Invalidating Real Ones: Report
(WNYC, 05/09/12)
Latest News from the Brennan Center: Matching Funds Leads to Donor Diversity
Read the latest news on: How matching funds lead to donor diversity, states misappropriating foreclosure funds, winning the vote count fight, and more.
The Narrowing of Tarek Mehanna’s Liberties Has Consequences for Us All
The recent indictment, conviction, and sentencing of a Massachusetts pharmacist named Tarek Mehanna highlights the Obama administration’s squeamishness with public information and oversight in national security matters.
Money in Politics: This Week in New York
A roundup with the latest news highlighting the corrosive nature of money in New York State politics — and the need for public financing and robust campaign finance reform.
Illustrations by Risko
Fighting Foreclosure
In this multi-part video series, homeowners speak about the devastating consequences of facing the loss of a home without an attorney. Based on interviews conducted around the country, the videos feature homeowners, legal aid lawyers, housing counselors, and community leaders.
Fighting Foreclosure: Why Legal Assistance Matters is a project of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the National Coalition for the Civil Right to Counsel. The series was produced by Sarah P. Reynolds.
What We’re Reading Today: Act Again
A daily round-up of quick hits, clips, and opinion pieces touching on key issues of democracy, justice, liberty and national security.