Voting Rights Uprising: Activists in Three States Help GOP's Targets Get Voter ID

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/story/155142/voting_rights_uprising%3A_activists_in_three_states_help_gop%27s_targets_get_voter_id/

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The GOP-led effort to disenfranchise likely Democratic voting blocks by enacting tougher state voter ID laws has run into a new obstacle: targeted populations are fighting back as voting rights advocates are helping people obtain the necessary ID.

Grassroots efforts in Tennessee, Wisconsin and Colorado are profiled in a new report, "Got ID? Helping Americans Get Voter Identification," from Common Cause, Demos, Fair Elections Legal Network, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The report is an important counterpoint to persistent progressive messaging about the GOP’s attack on voting rights that typically has not informed people how to overcome the barriers.

“This report gives Americans the tools they need to fight back and make their voices heard,” said Jenny Rose Flanagan, director of voting and elections at Common Cause.

The battle over tougher ballot access is a years-long fight where proponent’s arguments are not supported by facts on the ground and mask their partisan goals—shaping the electorate to achieve or maintain political power. There is nothing new about enacting laws (or running campaign ads) to discourage voting.

[Scuba]

1. Thanks to the activists, and thanks for this post....

Another key program, Wisconsin Voices, developed a relationship with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Advocates filed a public records request and got more than 2 million names of residents with drivers' licenses. That was cross-referenced with a voter contact and management system. As a result, 1.3 million individuals were identified who may need photo IDs to vote.

emphasis mine

[mantis49]

2. K&R

n/t

[pscot]

3. A kick

and a recommendation.

[AllyCat]

4. Yup. That's what we are doing in my small city.

We went through a training and now have posted hours and locations to help people get registered. We found about 800 eligible voters from our town signed the recall and were not registered to vote. We now have names and contact information and are working with those people to get registered. In a town of just under 13K people, 800 voters is no small group.