House Democratic leaders introduced the Voter Empowerment Act, a bill to help ensure all eligible Americans have the opportunity to vote. It is the first federal bill to include modernized voter registration, a proposal first introduced by the Brennan Center in 2008. “Modernizing voter registration is something everyone can get behind,” said the Center’s Wendy Weiser. “It is an innovative reform that could add more than 50 million eligible citizens to the rolls, permanently.” Read our modernization proposal.
Voting Rights Act Upheld
A D.C. Circuit court upheld Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key civil rights law that helped combat rampant discrimination in voting. “Following a year that has seen the biggest rollback of voting rights in a generation, the Voting Rights Act is more important than ever,” said the Brennan Center’s Wendy Weiser. “Instead of rolling back voting rights, lawmakers should focus on improving our voting system and increasing access to the polls. We call on members of all political parties to support reforms that help Americans vote rather than misguided efforts to roll back the clock on voting rights.”
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.
Supreme Court Gets Chance to Fix Citizens United
The Brennan Center filed a brief Friday urging the Supreme Court to uphold Montana’s 100-year-old ban on corporate election spending, and use the case to revisit Citizens United. “This 2010 ruling, extended by lower federal courts, has spawned the super PACs now threatening to bring Wild West corruption to federal elections,” writes Adam Skaggs in Politico. The brief argues the Court can clarify super PAC rules without overturning the decision.
- Odd Time to Purge Voter Rolls
(Tampa Bay Times, 05/20/12) - Obama Campaign Working to Counter New Voter ID Laws
(Washington Post, 05/19/12) - Campaign Finance Reform Sought, but Will it Come?
(Democrat and Chronicle, 05/19/12) - Obama Camp Arms Voters With Information on Strict, New Voting Laws
(The Wall Street Journal, 05/18/12) - Senators Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Law Banning Corporate Donations
(Roll Call, 05/18/12) - Democrats Counter GOP Voting Restrictions
(The Nation, 05/18/12) - Can Montana Brief End Citizens United?
(Politico, 05/18/12) - House Democrats Push to Make Voting Easier
(The Hill, 05/18/12) - Latino Voters Likely To Bear Brunt Of Florida’s Voter Rolls Purge
(Huffington Post, 05/17/12) - Connecticut’s New Voter Law Bucks National Trend
(New America Media, 05/17/12)
What We’re Reading Today: Voter Empowerment
A daily round-up of quick hits, clips, and opinion pieces touching on key issues of democracy, justice, liberty and national security.
Big Spenders in Michigan Exploit Disclosure Loopholes
Non-profit groups are spending millions of (secret) dollars on elections, and the public has a right to know who is trying to influence their votes.
Diverting Settlement Funds Hurts Those Who Need It Most
State governors and legislators should use money from the national foreclosure settlement fund for foreclosure prevention. Diverting that money into other budget areas will hurt state economies, and will do nothing to help the people who need assistance today.
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: Voter Empowerment
A daily round-up of quick hits, clips, and opinion pieces touching on key issues of democracy, justice, liberty and national security.