Analysis & Commentary
Voting After Criminal Conviction
The Other 5 Million
The right to vote is one of our most fundamental rights. In recent weeks, the national news media has focused significant attention on the swath of restrictive voting laws that several states have enacted this year, zeroing in on a particularly alarming statistic: namely, the 5 million eligible voters whose access to the polls has been undermined by these new restrictions on the franchise.
Authored by: Nicole Austin-Hillery and Nic Riley
– 12/16/11
Secrecy, Fear, and the National Security State: A lecture on American democracy
Fritz Schwarz delivered a lecture entitled "The National Security State and Other Dangers to Democracy" on November 11, 2010, at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at the Free University of Berlin.
"Crisis and its cousin fear always make it tempting to ignore the wise restraints that keep us free. That is not new. But America has been living in an atmosphere of crisis for an unusally long time."
Authored by: Frederick A.O. "Fritz" Schwarz, Jr.
– 11/22/10
Rachel Maddow Speaks about felony disenfranchisement
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow speaks about Virginia Governor McDonnell’s new requirement to require people convicted of non-violent felonies to write an essay in order to get their voting rights restored..
– 04/14/10
Voting After Criminal Conviction | 2010 Spring Update
In this newsletter: Jim Crow in New York, Democracy Restoration Act Congressional Hearing, State Reforms, Ninth Circuit Victory & Other Litigation News and Alan Alda reads from My First Vote
– 04/08/10
Erika Wood and Glenn Martin on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show
Erika Wood and Fortune Society’s Glenn Martin talk about Brennan Center’s new report, Jim Crow in New York.
– 03/30/10
Jim Crow haunts N.Y. blacks
A law enacted nearly 140 years ago—intended to disenfranchise African-Americans—is still in effect here today in New York.
Authored by: Erika Wood
– 03/12/10
It Isn’t Complicated: Restore the Vote to 300,000 Americans
A call to Governor Tim Kaine to use the last few days in his tenure to restore to a huge number of citizens their right to vote.
Authored by: Erika Wood
– 01/13/10
Voting After Criminal Conviction | 2009 Summer Update
In This Newletter: Democracy Restoration Act, My First Vote, Victory in Washington and Additional State Reform.
– 09/03/09
Summary of 2009 Voting Rights Restoration in the States
This document provides a summary of voting rights restoration legislation in the states during the the 2009 legislative session.
– 08/12/09
Legal Analysis of Congress’ Constitutional Authority to Restore Voting Rights
This memo addresses the constitutionality of the Democracy Restoration Act (DRA), which would permit all individuals who are not incarcerated to vote in federal elections, regardless of whether they have a criminal record that makes them ineligible to vote in state elections.
– 08/03/09