Advancement Project Continuing Voter Protection Efforts in 2010
Voter Protections Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 1
January 22, 2010
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA—In 2010, Advancement Project's Voter Protection staff will attempt to meet new challenges while maintaining its steadfast commitment to addressing unresolved voter protection issues from 2009.
Currently, our Voter Protection staff is anticipating favorable resolutions in a number of voting rights cases the organization has been litigating. Advancement Project also expects to file new litigation in the coming months while urging passage of various state bills that would ease early voting or ensure that more eligible voters get to vote by regular ballot. Some of the highlights in various states include the following:
In Ohio, staff attorney Donita Judge will promote passage of House Bill 260 (H.B.260) which would reduce the overuse of provisional ballots by eliminating the “wrong precinct” rule, which completely invalidates provisional ballots inadvertently cast in the wrong precinct, even when the voter is eligible to vote for many of the statewide and national races, such as Governor, Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and President.
H.B. 260 would allow voters to update their addresses at the polls on Election Day and vote by regular ballot after providing valid identification, completing a change-of-address form and appearing at the correct polling place. Last fall, Judge testified before the Ohio House of Representatives Committee on Election and Ethics about the problems with the state's administration of provisional ballots and the merits of H.B. 260.
In Florida, Voter Protection Advocate Carolyn Thompson will be working with a coalition of voter-protection, civil rights and community groups to promote passage of Florida Senate Bill 828 (S.B. 828). The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Nan Rich would expand the hours for early voting sites and allow the sites to be established in a greater number of locations. Currently, early voting sites are limited to public libraries, city halls and supervisors offices. Should the bill pass, early voting sites could be established at malls, colleges, fairgrounds and other government offices. In addition, the bill would create a uniform formula for establishing early voting sites so that there wouldn't be wide disparities among counties, with some allowing voters far more access to voting early than others.
The lawsuit, filed by Advancement Project and the Brennan Center and other pro bono counsel on behalf of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and other plaintiffs, seeks to end the state's practice of matching a voter applicant's name and driver's license number, state ID or social security number with information in the state driver's license database or Social Security Administration database and then using that information to verify a voter applicant's identity, barring registration in the case of a failed match.
Although most failed matches result from data entry errors on the part of election officials or simple numeric transposition errors by voter applicants, current Florida law does not allow the voter to correct the error at the polling place on Election Day, but rather, requires voters to bring in a copy of their driver's license, social security card or state ID to their county election office in advance of Election Day if they want to be registered and vote by regular ballot.
The unnecessary burdensome law has a disparate impact on Black and Latino voters in Florida.
In Pennsylvania, Advancement Project Senior Attorney Kathryn Boockvar will be working as a member of the Pennsylvania Voters Coalition for legislative reforms involving early or absentee voting, voter registration, provisional ballots, poll worker training and easing access to voting.
Part of Boockvar's goal is to establish no-excuse absentee voting or other early vote options, same-day registration, Election Day registration and to allow Election Day corrections to incorrect voter applicant information. In addition, Boockvar plans to work for more sufficient and uniform provision of polling place resources, which includes voting machines and poll workers. She will also work to expand voting access and education for inmates and those who were recently released from prison.
Boockvar plans to continue working with the Pennsylvania Department of State and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare to increase voter registration of clients of the state's social service agencies, which would improve compliance with federal and state laws.
In Missouri, Senior Attorney Denise Lieberman will be advocating for a number of legislative reforms involving early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, and legislation to establish minimum poll worker training standards, among other legislation.
In Georgia, Senior Attorney Bradley E. Heard will continue to monitor the outcome of S.B. 86, a bill passed by that Georgia legislature, which is currently pending before the U.S. Department of Justice for preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The law, which Advancement Project and other civil rights groups vehemently oppose, would require voter applicants to supply documentary proof of their United States citizenship before being allowed to register. A similar law in Arizona has resulted in a disastrous amount of voter disenfranchisement among eligible citizens of color.
In Michigan, Heard anticipates a successful resolution of litigation to end two of Michigan's illegal purge programs that cancel the voter registrations of eligible voters without the notification that's required under the National Voter Registration Act. In October 2008, a federal district judge determined that both of the challenged programs violated federal law and issued an injunction against one of them. The state temporarily suspended the other program, pending conclusion of the lawsuit, after reviewing the judge's ruling.
A similar voter purge lawsuit is pending in Colorado, where the state is engaging in a similar practice of immediately cancelling the voter registrations of voter applicants when non-forwardable notices were returned as undeliverable. Heard and his co-counsel recently filed summary judgment briefs in that case and are in the process of resolving other parts of the lawsuit by way of settlement.
"In every state where we engage in voter protection work our staff attorneys are working hard to build allies and advocates to push for legislation where possible that would make voting, registering and remaining on the rolls less difficult," said Elizabeth Westfall, Director of Advancement Project's Voter Protection Program.
In all of our states, the Voter Protection staff will work to expand the network of community and civil rights groups, particularly among communities of color, that advocate for meaningful ways to expand the franchise.
“In addition,” said Westfall, “our team will look to improve polling place resources so that voters have more access to voting machines and don't have to wait hours to cast ballots. The Voter Protection Team pushes states to add poll workers where needed and improve poll worker training.
We must push back against the bad bills that would make it harder to vote and file litigation to stop the bad laws and practices that keep eligible voters from democratic participation. The battle to improve our democracy continues.”
