About
RIGHT TO VOTE: ABOUT

1. Program Overview

"There must be some extremely important reason why people amend constitutions, fight, and die over the vote." – Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.

Advancement Project's universal right to vote initiative is an extension of U.S. Representative Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.'s pioneering work (House Joint Resolution 28), which spearheaded the most recent movement to enshrine the right to vote into the U.S. Constitution by amendment. Advancement Project's Right to Vote Public Education Initiative seeks to increase public awareness of the need for stronger voting rights enforcement, including the ramifications of an affirmative, federally protected right to vote.

Our current activities include legal/ policy research and analysis; research on public opinion and attitudes; outreach to important stakeholders and development of a strategic public education plan.

  • Legal/Policy Research and Analysis. To map the legal and policy landscape, we have drawn on the expertise of leading constitutional and voting rights scholars. This includes the substantive meaning of the right to vote and its impact. For example, how a federal right to vote would affect current barriers to the franchise such as onerous ID requirements, duplicative check boxes on registration applications, restrictive provisional ballot rules and the disenfranchisement of persons convicted of a felony.
  • Public Opinion Research and Analysis: We have conducted the necessary public opinion research to assist us in understanding public attitudes and crafting effective messages about the right to vote.
  • Outreach to Stakeholders: A critical ingredient of this initiative is outreach to scores of groups that have a stake in the struggle for voting rights in this country. We have met or held phone conferences with organizations at the national, state and local level. After getting initial feedback from key stakeholders, we will host or co-host a convening at which academics, national organizations and community groups could share their experiences, views and strategies on policy proposals for ensuring the right to vote.
  • Development of a Strategic Public Education Plan: Our team of attorneys, policy analysts and communications experts are bringing together all of the information gathered from our research and outreach efforts into a strategic plan for increasing public understanding of the issues surrounding the right to vote. It will include all of the critical elements for a successful public education campaign, such as effective messages; important audiences; key allies; a timeline of activities; and the roles of various media, including paid and earned, community and ethnic media, national, state and local priorities and the priorities among print, radio, television, Internet, billboards, etc.

2. Community Partners

Advancement Project's outreach to stakeholders and experts has been both wide and deep. We held two major brainstorming sessions with experts on law, policy, legislative strategy and communications: met with Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. and his Chief of Staff, Frank Watkins (Jackson is the leading proponent of a constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to vote); held individual or small group meetings and phone calls with scores of other stakeholders and experts; and attended several conferences to make presentations or hold informal discussions about the right to vote.

Community Groups

Community Services Society, New York City
DC Vote, Washington DC
Raza Development Fund, Phoenix, Arizona

National Organizations

  • ACLU
  • AFL/CIO
  • American University School of Law
  • Asian American Legal Defense Fund
  • The Brennan Center for Justice
  • Center for Community Change
  • Common Cause
  • Demos
  • Fair Vote
  • George Washington School of Law
  • Harvard Law and Kennedy Schools
  • Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
  • The League of Women Voters
  • NAACP
  • NAACP Legal Defense Fund
  • NALEO
  • National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium
  • National Council of La Raza
  • National Voting Rights Institute
  • Native American Rights Fund
  • Project Vote
  • Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
  • Rainbow/PUSH
  • SEIU
  • U.S. Action
  • Verified Voting Foundation