Voting Rights Institute of the Democratic National Committee is a permanent organization created to monitor developments in election law, advocate to make voting more accessible, and provide guidance on voting rights and election administration issues. This work is integrally tied to our Party's platform, which commits to fully protecting and enforcing the fundamental right to vote.
The Democratic National Committee is dedicated to ensuring that the process of voting remains open and fair for all eligible Americans. We continue to work to defeat any legislative or political effort that erodes the most fundamental of American rights—the right to vote.
Under the leadership of its chair Donna Brazile, the Voting Rights Institute focuses on the protection and expansion of voting rights in a variety of ways, including:
Voting Rights Policy Development
Research and Publication
Voter Protection Organizing
Redistricting Support
Voting Rights Litigation Support
read more:
http://www.democrats.org/about/voting_rights_institute
The National Lawyers Council of the Democratic Party
works to support President Obama's agenda, promote and protect the right to vote, and engage Democratic attorneys in a variety of ways. Sign up to receive information on relevant events, legislation, calls to action, and leadership opportunities throughout the year.
read more:
http://my.democrats.org/page/s/national-lawyers-council-sign-up?source=Demsfooter
The Accountability Project is a platform for you to hold candidates accountable for their claims, their public statements, and their campaign tactics. No matter where you live, you can:
If you have a video camera of any kind, or even a cell phone that records video, you can document Republican candidate events, including speeches, forums, and public meetings.
You can submit copies of candidate mailers, emails, and attack ads.
You can also report upcoming public events in your area, so that other volunteers can document them.
read more:
http://my.democrats.org/page/content/ap/home
DNC Protect the Vote Initiative:
http://www.protectingthevote.org/?source=DNC_HQB
December 23
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Justice Department on Friday rejected South Carolina’s law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, saying it makes it harder for minorities to cast ballots. It was the first voter ID law to be refused by the federal agency in nearly 20 years.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/12/justice-dept-rejects-south-carolina-voter-id-law/1
WASHINGTON (AP) - A photo ID requirement for voters in Texas could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of registered Hispanics, the Justice Department declared Monday in its latest move against Republican-led voting changes in many states that have drawn protests from minorities, poor people and students. The Justice objection means that now a federal court in Washington will decide whether Texas, as well as South Carolina, will be allowed to enforce its new voter photo ID requirements.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/justice-department-rejects-sc-voter-id-law-says-it-makes-it-harder-for-minorities-to-vote/2011/12/23/gIQAqDpDEP_print.html
Attorney General Eric Holder blasted efforts to keep people from the polls and vowed to throw the full weight of the Justice Department behind efforts to protect voting rights.
Holder said the department would "carefully review" changes to voting rules and practices -- including political district boundaries -- in the 16 states that require "preclearance" due to their history of discrimination.
Holder also vowed to crack down on deceptive practices and pushed for the passage of legislation set to be introduced Wednesday that would establish tough criminal penalties for those who engage in fraudulent voting practices.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9o8CE6DGgSbzkLpZ3moCZIYuOqg?docId=CNG.249cb628071b3a25f19cf14352a8df81.921
Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library & Museum
Austin, TX ~ Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Under this Administration, our Civil Rights Division – and its Voting Section – have taken meaningful steps to ensure integrity, independence, and transparency in our enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. We have worked successfully and comprehensively to protect the voting rights of U.S. service members and veterans, and to enforce other laws that protect Americans living abroad, citizens with disabilities, and language minorities. As part of our aggressive enforcement of the “Motor Voter” law, this year alone, we filed two statewide lawsuits to enforce the requirement that voter registration opportunities be made available at a wider variety of government offices – beyond just the local department of motor vehicles. And we’re seeing promising results from this work. For example, after filing a lawsuit in Rhode Island, we reached an agreement with state agencies that resulted in more voters being registered in the first full month after our lawsuit than in the entire previous two-year reporting period.
We’re also working to ensure that the protections for language minorities included in the Voting Rights Act are aggressively enforced. These protections now apply to more than 19 million voting-age citizens. These are our Spanish-speaking friends and neighbors, our Chinese-speaking friends and neighbors, and a large and growing part of all our communities. In just the past year, we’ve filed three lawsuits to protect their rights. And, today, we’re actively reviewing nationwide compliance.
http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2011/ag-speech-111213.html
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