84 Articles

Sunday, June 21, 2009
Living in Glass Houses: The GOP's Own Man is Convicted of Voter Registration Fraud
(4 comments) Fraud did take place in the 2008 election--conducted for, and paid for by, the Republican Party.

Sunday, February 1, 2009
Equal Voting Rights Still In Question in 2009
After the voters spoke last November by turning out in record numbers, we enter a new year with a new president and multiple new agendas for election administration in the states that bring both excitement and concern from voting rights advocates.

Saturday, December 20, 2008
Record Voter Turnout Indicates Closing of Electoral Gaps With the Help of Early Vote
(1 comments) Final election results from the 2008 presidential election reveal that voter turnout was at the "highest level in 40 years." However, the biggest gain cannot just be seen in overall turnout. As Project Vote assessed in a recent report on 2008 voter demographics - now confirmed by other sources - the biggest gain was among minority and young voters. This success signifies a shift towards a more balanced electorate, and may hera

Friday, December 5, 2008
Lawmakers Target Individual Voters, While Failing to Address Systemic Problems
Recent analyses of the 2008 general election find that overall participation increased on November 4, with a significant surge in voter participation among historically underrepresented Americans. Yet, while some lawmakers have been inspired by the recent voter turnout to propose election reforms that expand access to voting rights, others continue to focus on creating additional barriers to voting.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Exit Poll Analysis Finds Surge in Youth and Minority Voting
The United States saw dramatic increases in voting from traditionally underrepresented groups, including minorities and young voters, according to a new analysis released this week by Project Vote. If borne out by systematic analysis of the voter rolls, this change in the electorate is evidence of the power of successful voter registration drives and an indication of the strong inclination of voters to participate in the proce

Thursday, November 20, 2008
After 2008 Election, Some States Want to Make Voting Easier; Others Determined to Make it Harder
Following an historic turnout in the 2008 election comes a flurry of election reform agendas from both sides of the battle over voting rights. Since November 4, some state lawmakers have seized on the success of early voting and Election Day Registration (EDR) as models for facilitating voter registration, while others appear to have been threatened by the heightened turnout and inspired to introduce restrictive voter ID and p

Friday, November 14, 2008
Calling for Election Reform: Universal Registration and Early Voting Take Lead in Voting Rights Discussions
Following one of the most momentous elections in the nation's history, officials and advocates across the country are already turning their attention to the future of American democracy. After a grueling battle over voter registration, voter roll maintenance, and ballot access for the ever growing electorate, leaders and advocates are evaluating what worked this year and considering major administrative and legislative overhau

Tuesday, November 4, 2008
UPDATE: Project Vote Lawsuit in Indiana puts 200 Voters Back on the Rolls
In a victory for voting rights and common sense, Marion County, Indiana has agreed that 200 Indiana residents will not be blocked from the polls just because they registered using a slightly-different registration form from previous election cycles.

Monday, November 3, 2008
Project Vote Files Suit on Behalf of Indiana Woman who Correctly Registered, but on Wrong Form
Drametra Brown grew up in Indianapolis, attended Broad Ripple High School, and spent most of her life in the city. Now 37 and a certified nursing assistant, Drametra works with senior citizens at Alpha Home, an Indianapolis nursing home. Drametra had never voted before, but this year was different, and when a fellow staff member and good Samaritan Lisa Hamilton, Alpha Home's Admissions Director, handed out blank registration f

Saturday, November 1, 2008
Voters Eager to Have A Stake in Historical Election: Early Voting Predicts Strong Turnout Tuesday
In the last two weeks voter registration and early voting has shown that voters are geared up and ready to take part in what has been called a "historical event" on November 4.

Friday, October 24, 2008
New Voters Under Siege: Ohio Exemplifies National Voting Rights Issues
(1 comments) For those of us who believe that democracy works best when all eligible citizens participate, the influx of new voters makes for an exciting presidential election year. Of course, with the excitement and high expectations of turnout comes controversy and partisan resistance to the new crop of voters.

Thursday, October 9, 2008
Project Vote & ACORN Complete Historic 1.3 Million Voter Registration Drive
(6 comments) Project Vote and ACORN announce the completion of their successful 2008 voter registration drive, which helped over 1.3 million low-income, of color, and young voters complete registration applications.

Thursday, October 9, 2008
Changing the Game: Voter Registration Drives Reshape the American Electorate
Monday marked the last day to register to vote before November's presidential election in many states and the conclusion to one of the nation's largest nonpartisan voter registration drives in history. Helping more than 1.3 million of the America's underrepresented young, low-income and minority citizens register to vote, Project Vote and its voter registration drive partner, the Association of Community Organizations for Refo

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
TIMELINE: Mich. Vote Caging Scheme Exemplifies Mounting Dirty Tricks Operations
On Sept. 10, reporter Eartha Jane Melzer of online publication, the Michigan Messenger broke the story that the GOP of Macomb County, Mich. was planning to use public lists of foreclosures to challenge the eligibility of potentially thousands of low-income and minority voters in that hard-hit region. Since that time (and at least party through Project Vote's efforts to catalyze action to stop the illegal disenfranchisement), t

Friday, September 19, 2008
Veterans Advocates Skeptical of New V.A. Registration Policies
We recently wrote about the Department of Veterans Affairs decision to open its facilities to voter registration drives after months of urging by voting rights groups and elected officials. This week, however, "VA voter suppression continues," as AlterNet's Steven Rosenfeld wrote Tuesday, with voter registration efforts being blocked in California and the VA general counsel criticizing the pending Veterans Voting Support Act

Friday, September 12, 2008
Mich. GOP Targets Foreclosure Victims for Election Day Dirty Tricks
Partisan political operatives in Michigan are taking voter caging operations to depths that would surprise even the most cynical observers of American elections. If their plans are put into action, thousands of Michigan foreclosure victims may find that they will not only have lost their homes this year, but also their vote.

Monday, September 8, 2008
Ohio Secretary of State Brunner Does Right By Voters
For a while now we've been keeping you informed of Project Vote's efforts to prevent a repeat of massive voter caging operations that plagued Ohio in the 2004 elections.

Friday, September 5, 2008
How To Keep People From Voting: Make The System As Complicated As Possible
Misinformation and misinterpretation of each state's particular laws--not only by voters, but also by state officials--has the potential to influence the outcome of the election, a problem seen recently

Friday, August 29, 2008
Electoral Dirty Tricks Coming Soon To An In-Box Near You
(1 comments) Election experts have already worried that the surge of newly registered voters may cause unintentional chaos through long lines and ballot shortages on Election Day. Now there is increased concern that intentional chaos, thru disinformation, may be caused by partisan forces using something that millions of Americans access every day - the Internet.

Thursday, August 21, 2008
How Voter ID Laws Unfairly Burden Voters And Skew The Electorate
With little more than two months left before Election Day, prospective voters are rushing to get registered. And like the way that slugs thrive in moist weather, voter suppression attacks spring up around large-scale voter registration drives. Partisan attempts to shape the electorate, in effect choosing the voters rather than voters choosing their own representatives, seek to impose barriers to voter participation by eligible

Saturday, August 16, 2008
Voter Suppression Industry Gears Up For Long Hot Summer
(3 comments) Last week, we wrote about how some reporters have stopped playing into the hands of voter suppression operatives and suddenly acted like journalists by actually investigating partisan claims of voter fraud in relation to voter registration drives. Until the Virginia press corps showed how it should be done, this kind of every-day feat of journalism had been as rare as voter fraud itself. But, if this is August of an election

Saturday, July 5, 2008
Who Gets to Vote? State's Struggle to Register Veterans, Felons and Minorities
In the aftermath of the presidential primaries, stories of unprecedented voter registration and turnout are drifting to the back burner. But with an exceedingly imbalanced electorate, the fight to create access to the voting rolls and enforce the voting rights of all Americans continues.

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Block The Vote! Proof of Citizenship On The Rise, Flashpoint Missouri
Requiring proof-of-citizenship in order to register to vote is the latest addition to voter suppression arsenal. Spurred by Arizona's 2004 implementation of proof of citizenship requirements and the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold Indiana's strict voter ID law, proof of citizenship bills - often coupled with voter ID - are gaining traction across the country.

Friday, May 9, 2008
Counter-Framing Voter ID: Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege
(2 comments) Project Vote normally uses this update to give news roundups on voting rights-related stories from the past week. However, with the reverberations from the Supreme Court's Crawford vs. Marion County voter identification decision just starting to filter down into statehouses across the country, we felt it was necessary to spend this update concentrating solely on voter ID, giving progressives a concise summary of the problems a

Friday, May 2, 2008
Legal Voter Disenfranchisement – Coming Soon To A State Near You
In the midst of a presidential election year that is seeing record-breaking voter turnout, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Indiana's draconian voter ID requirement. The controversial law - which requires all voters to provide government issued, photographic proof of identity in order to vote at the polls - threatens to create a legislative domino effect of new voter ID laws ready for implementation bef

Friday, April 25, 2008
Bush Administration Stops Vets from Registering to Vote
(4 comments) The ability of injured veterans to vote in November's presidential election rests in the hands of Bush Administration officials, who have so far refused demands from advocates and lawmakers that the Department of Veterans Affairs help hospitalized veterans register to vote.

Friday, April 18, 2008
Youth Voter Participation Surges - But So Do Voter Suppression Attempts
Young voters have arrived. Finally. Since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1972, predictions of the increasing impact of young voters on the outcomes of elections have consistently been proven wrong on Election Day. In fact, youth voting rates have rarely been as strong as they were in 1972 and young people continue to be among the least represented groups in the electorate and in the voting booth.

Thursday, April 10, 2008
Voter Registration Surges, But Fuels Voter Suppression Attempts In State Legislatures
Voter registration applications continue to pour into elections offices across the country at record breaking rates, contributing to unprecedented turnout over the course of the presidential primary season so far. This reality of exploding participation in American democracy should be closely considered by lawmakers when evaluating legislation that could expand or restrict access to the polls this November.

Friday, April 4, 2008
The War On Voting Rights: Voter Fraud Smears, Voter ID And Corruption At DOJ
(1 comments) The history of democracy in the United States is one marked by the steady, though intensely contested, expansion of the right to vote. The most recent expansion of the franchise were the result of years of struggle through the Civil Rights Movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement. But these struggles are not over.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
Who Votes in 2008: Four Voting Rights Issues to Watch
The debates surrounding the issue of expanding or restricting access to the right to vote are in high gear this legislative session at both state and Congressional levels. Bills filed range from proposals to lower the voting age to voter ID requirements. Project Vote's Election Legislation monitoring project has identified a surge of contentious election bills this year, but whether this is simply the result of the standard im

Saturday, March 22, 2008
Voter Registration Discrepancies May Result in Voter Suppression
Two states with upcoming primary elections, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, have made local headlines for voter registration discrepancies, creating openings for confusing and discouraging voters and possibly even allowing those with voter suppression agendas to make an impact.

Saturday, March 15, 2008
Do Dogs Vote in St. Louis? Senators Spar over the Need for Voters to Show Photo ID
(6 comments) At the third hearing on voter suppression in as many weeks, members of Congress again sparred over the prevalence of fraudulent voting. This time, it was members of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration at hearing on In Person Voter Fraud: Myth and Trigger for Disenfranchisement?, called at the insistence of Chuck Schumer.

Friday, March 7, 2008
Another Tool of Voter Suppression: Felon Disenfranchisement Update
(2 comments) At the age of 18, every American citizen is free to exercise his or her right to vote, as guaranteed by the Constitution. However, more than five million Americans in 48 states are denied access to this right due to an array of legislation barring former felons from the polls. This week, three states made headlines with starkly different takes on the voting rights of former felons.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Voter Suppression At Justice: DOJ Gets Tongue-Lashing During House Oversight Hearing
(1 comments) February 26 was not a good day for Asheesh Agarwal, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U. S. Department of Justice. During a hearing of the House Committee on the Judiciary, the bookish bureaucrat was raked slowly over the hot coals by several irate members of Congress.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Young Voters Making The Difference, But Barriers Keep Their Full Promise Unfulfilled
With a presidential election year comes the inevitable buzz about how how young people will participate in the democratic process. This year, however, the buzz is about younger voters starting to fulfill the promise of the 26th Amendment, rather than a drumbeat about their apathy. Perhaps this should come as no surprise. A recent Pew Research Center study showed 18-29 year olds are more invested in politics with 85% showing in

Friday, February 29, 2008
Legalizing Voter Suppression in Massachusettes
(1 comments)

Thursday, February 7, 2008
Primary Precinct Problems Presage General Election Chaos Unless Addressed Immediately

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Restoring Democracy: Felon and Youth Voting Rights
(2 comments)

Friday, January 18, 2008
EDR Emerging As Target of Voter Suppression Activists

Thursday, January 10, 2008
Voter Suppression Battles Likely to Resume At The State Level

Thursday, December 20, 2007
Federal Judge Finds Fla. Violated Voting Rights

Thursday, December 6, 2007
"Election Integrity" Feeding Frenzy Zeros In On Proof-of-Citizenship Requirements

Tuesday, November 20, 2007
2008 Voter Suppression Hangs on Supreme Court Decision
(7 comments)

Thursday, November 8, 2007
Report Shows Kentucky's Persistent Electorate Bias After Highest Minority Turnout Ever

Thursday, November 8, 2007
2007 Elections Presage Potential Problems in 2008

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Voter Fraud That Isn't: Tricks of the Voter Suppression Trade

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Census Mobility Data Highlights Need for Large-Scale Voter Registration in Communities of Color

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Voter Suppression In 2008 At Stake In Attorney General Hearings
(1 comments)

Friday, October 12, 2007
Failing the Grade: Young People Face Strong Barriers at the Polls

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Fewer Than Half of Eligible Minority and Low-Income Americans Voted in 2006, Report Shows
(1 comments)

Thursday, October 11, 2007
Voting Chief Says Voter ID Laws Disenfranchise Whites
While the question of whether or not voter ID laws disenfranchise minority, elderly and poor voters is being reviewed by the Supreme Court, John Tanner, chief of the Justice Department's Voting Section, says they do not. In fact, in a jaw-dropping twist of analysis, he told the National Latino Congreso that voter ID laws have "the opposite impact"

Saturday, October 6, 2007
Mail-In Ballots - No Cure-All for Voting Ills
(3 comments)

Sunday, September 23, 2007
Restoring Democracy - Election Reform or Band-Aid Solutions?

Friday, September 14, 2007
Voter Disenfranchisement: Politicization at the DOJ Leads To Questionable Voter Purge Attempts

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Without the Voting Rights Act, There Would Be No Minority Elected Officials

Saturday, September 1, 2007
Gonzales Steps Down, Leaving a Trail of Questions

Saturday, August 18, 2007
From Jail Cell to 'Debtor's Prison,' WA Former Felons Pay for Voting Rights

Friday, August 17, 2007
DOJ's Selective Prosecution of the National Voter Registration Act
It creates new problems for voting rights advocates.

Saturday, August 11, 2007
Backroom Voter Suppression: Who Gets Knocked Off Voter Lists?
This an entry in a series of blogs to keep people informed on current election reform and voting rights issues in the news.

Sunday, August 5, 2007
"Voter Fraud" Keeps Voter Suppression Policies Alive
(2 comments)

Saturday, July 28, 2007
Voter Suppression Activities Hit Voter Registration Drives

Saturday, July 14, 2007
Election Day Registration Advances in NC

Friday, July 6, 2007
Restoration of Voting Rights Picks up Steam
(2 comments) Weekly Voting Rights News Roundup

Friday, June 29, 2007
Vote Caging Bars Voters from Polls for Partisan Advantage

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Religious Zeal in the Justice Dept. Impacts Civil Rights

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Standards, Tests, and Questions: The von Spakovsky Nomination

Sunday, May 27, 2007
Life and Death Struggle Against Voter Suppression: TX Senator Gallegos Blocks Voter ID Bill
(2 comments) Featured Stories of the Week: Voter ID measure dies in Senate without a vote. Why the Right to Vote, Without ID, Is Worth Fighting For Efforts to stop 'voter fraud' may have curbed legitimate voting Why This Scandal Matters Her first vote put her in prison: Woman is one of five from city convicted of voter fraud

Friday, May 18, 2007
Discredited Voter Suppression Tactic Still Kicking in Texas

Sunday, May 13, 2007
Bush Administration Makes DOJ a Partisan Political Machine

Friday, May 11, 2007
Winning By One: Why Understanding Election Rules and Regulations Matters
If yesterday's civic lesson was that every vote counts, today's civic lesson is that it's the rules of voting that counts. Two stories out of small-town northern Indiana in the past two weeks serve as excellent examples of the impact the rules of the game have on the outcome of elections.

Friday, May 11, 2007
Talking Points: Voter fraud, US Attorneys and Suppressing the Vote

Friday, May 11, 2007
Voter Fraud Used to Gain Political Leverage in MO

Thursday, May 10, 2007
Voter Registration Up in North Carolina
Thanks to public assistance agencies.

Saturday, April 28, 2007
Registering the Future: Youth Voting on the Horizon

Friday, April 20, 2007
History Has Not Yet Caught Up with One Group
Florida and several other states are taking steps to right a historic wrong by restoring voting and other rights to former felons.

Friday, April 20, 2007
Myth of Voter Fraud Still Used to Push Voter Suppression Attempts in WI
(2 comments)

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Federal election agency asks for investigation � of itself
A federal election agency, stung by criticism that it altered research finding on voter fraud to reflect partisan considerations, asked for an inspector general review of the agency's conduct.

Thursday, April 12, 2007
Federal Election Agency Altered Voter Fraud Findings
(2 comments) The New York Times front page reports that the Elections Assistance Commission(EAC) altered a report to exaggerate the prevalence of voter fraud, contrary to the authors' findings. Project Vote offers more context for this within the broader effort of the GOP to subvert elections for partisan political gain.

Saturday, April 7, 2007
Barred from the Polls

Saturday, March 31, 2007
Politics and the Abandonment of Voting Rights: Project Vote's Voting Rights & Election News Roundup, March 30, 2007 Ed.

Friday, March 30, 2007
BREAKING: Federal Election Agency Plays Politics with Voter ID Study
The US EAC tasked with, among other things, serving as a clearinghouse for election research decided to play politics today with the release of a study documenting the impact of voter identification requirements on voting. The study found that docdocumentary ID requirements lower voter turnout, particularly for minority voters.Researchers examined voting in the 2004 election.

Friday, March 23, 2007
Election and Voting Rights News Roundup: Week of March 23, 2007
This week, the issue of voter list maintenance made a return in two news stories – one reporting a small North Carolina county's handling of dead voters on the rolls, the other concluding a long debate over a 2006 law barring citizens whose information didn't perfectly match government databases from registering to vote.

Friday, March 23, 2007
US Atty Scandal Shines Light on Bush Adminstration Voter Suppression Efforts
A recent article by the McClatchy Newspapers shows just how deep the Bush Administration's obsession with using the myth of voter fraud to support schemes to suppress the votes of minorities and other marginalized groups runs.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Ohio's Brunner Right to Demand Cleveland Board of Elections Resignation