Publications
Voting Rights & Elections
Brennan Center and Demos Report on State Board of Elections Illegal Disenfranchisement of NY Voters
A recent survey of county election officials found that more than one-third of New Yorks 63 local election boards, including those in three New York City boroughs, continue to unlawfully disfranchise eligible voters with felony convictions. Despite previous advocacy efforts, election officials persist in misapplying the law, resulting in the illegal disfranchisement of potentially thousands of eligible voters.
– 03/15/06
Executive Summary of Brennan Center & Demos Report on the NY Board of Elections
A survey of 63 local election boards found that more than one-third of local boards, including four in New York City, are disenfranchising former prisoners and probationers who are eligible to register and vote under state law. These results repeat the widespread errors exposed in a 2003 Brennan Center and Legal Action Center survey.
– 03/15/06
Policy Brief on Student Voting
Research dating back to the 1940s has consistently shown that young citizens vote at lower rates than older citizens and are less likely to feel connected to the electoral process. Low voter turnout among young citizens has grown more acute since 1972, when 18-to-21 year olds were first permitted to vote. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at the University of Maryland, voter turnout of 18-24 year olds dropped by at least 13 percent (from 55% in 1972 to 42% in 2000), a much higher rate of decline than that of their elders. This lack of representation at the polls means that young peoples issues are being virtually ignored by political candidates.
– 03/08/06
Making the List: Database Matching and Verification Processes for Voter Registration
This report is the first comprehensive summary of critically important new voter registration procedures effective in most states at the beginning of 2006.
Authored by: Wendy Weiser, Justin Levitt, and Ana Munoz
– 03/01/06
Response to the Report of the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform
Response by the Brennan Center and Spencer Overton to the 2005 Carter-Baker commission on federal election reform
Authored by: Wendy R. Weiser, Justin Levitt, Catherine Weiss & Spencer Overton
– 07/19/05
Purged!
ACLU & Demos Report on Felony Purging
Authored by: Right to Vote, Demos, and the ACLU
– 10/01/04