Thousands Protect Voting Rights for All on Human Rights Day
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| Our voting rights are under attack by the most aggressive effort our nation has seen in over a century. |
Staff reports
More than 150 civil rights, labor, faith-based organizations and community groups took a stand against nationwide voter suppression efforts.
“History has shown that when people come after your right to vote, they are just getting started,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Everything we care about is at stake in this fight — the right to equal opportunity, the right for every child to attend a quality school, the right to clean water and clean air and the right of immigrants to be treated with dignity and respect.
The enactment of these state election laws is a reflection of a troubled past that we are forced to relive, and will only continue to impede progress of America and its people.”
The march comes on the heels of a joint report released by the NAACP and
the NAACP Legal Defense Fund examining the impact of scores of
legislative proposals nationwide. Titled Defending Democracy:
Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America, the report
details a plethora of voter suppression initiatives, including stringent
voter ID requirements, bans on the formerly incarcerated and oppressive
rules on voter registration and early voting periods.
While voters in some states can request free photo IDs from state motor
vehicles departments, they must still pay to obtain underlying
documents, such as birth certificates, necessary to get the photo ID,
potentially discouraging them from voting as a result. According to the
Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, the burden of these
new restrictions will fall heaviest on youth, minority, low-income and
disabled voters, groups which have seen surges in turnout in recent
years.
“The so-called problem of voter fraud is a myth, the percentage is
minuscule,” said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU. “These new laws
are suddenly being pushed after the historic 2008 presidential election
when Americans headed to the polls in droves. Now as we prepare for the
2012 elections, it’s difficult to believe that this isn’t some kind of
ploy to keep poor people, working people, or people of color away from
the polls.”
“In our democracy, few things are as sacred and as fundamental to our
democracy as the right to vote, Bob Edgar, President, Common Cause.
“That makes what we’re seeing these days very troubling. Big,
self-interested money is fueling voter suppression efforts from coast to
coast. I am proud to Stand for Freedom, on Human Rights Day, to send a
message to legislators across the country that our right to vote is not
for sale.”
For more information, please visit www.stand4freedom.org
