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Departments National Issues Regarding the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Americans are deeply concerned about the situation in Iraq, but there is yet another crisis. This country has not been functioning as a just democracy. As we try to serve as an example to the entire world of what democracy is all about, we simply cannot afford the experiences of the past two presidential elections. Despite vigilance, persuasion, pressure, and even litigation, registration processing and election preparation anomalies persisted in 2004 and were compounded by Election Day irregularities. It is clear that our voting system falls short of democratic ideals. Local standards vary, national standards are unevenly applied, and inequities and uncertainties abound. Procedures for registration are unnecessarily complicated and daunting for new voters; election workers and poll workers are too few and inadequately trained; same day remedies for voters are rare and difficult to implement; there are few quick remedies to resolve instances of voter intimidation and suppression; and in many areas a strong voter turnout simply overwhelms the system and leads to the disenfranchisement of thousands of eligible voters. The cumulative effect of multiple problems and breakdowns in election systems results in millions of Americans being denied their right to vote. The bottom line is this: even though the most overt forms of disenfranchisement have been outlawed, structural disenfranchisement continues to perpetuate inequity and exclusion. Much work remains to be done if we are to fix the cracks in our democracy. It is clear that defenders of democracy cannot just turn to this work in an election year; we must constantly protect voters through advocacy and litigation. Currently, state, and national coalitions, groups and organizations are beginning to move forward with a New Voting Rights Movement that is committed to electoral reform. For example, in 2004 many local officials were not prepared for the high voter turnout. Many election officials make their Election Day plans years in advance, so advocates are working with them now to prepare for future elections. Furthermore, by 2006 states are required to come into compliance with the Help America Vote Act, and there are numerous issues that advocates are addressing now; e.g., central voter database implementation, the accompanying list maintenance and purging procedures, and database connections to the Social Security Administration and other agencies. Voting conditions were better than they were in 2000, but we must address structural barriers to voting, and many others, straightaway. It has to be a multi-pronged effort. There must be: Focus on fundamental change: Structural disenfranchisement occurs because public officials refuse to fix the inherent flaws in the nation’s election system. Structural disenfranchisement can be overcome most effectively be implementing systems that affirmatively facilitate and encourage broad participation. The ultimate goal should be to make voting easy, convenient, and inclusive. Better voting equipment is only the beginning. It would be a mistake to focus on equipment alone when so much of the problem stems from lack of accountability, inadequate training of poll workers, unavailable translation services, and inadequate implementation of the National Voter Registration Act. Hold election officials accountable. Just as voting is fundamental to citizens being able to exercise political power to improve neighborhoods, the quality of election officials is fundamental to the right to vote. Heightened awareness and public scrutiny in tandem with coordinated community efforts throughout the election cycle to bring voter registration, purges and other activities to light can only help to prevent many of the problems voters face. Defenders of democracy know a lot more today than they did in 2000 and 2004 about election laws and their administration. Advancement Project fully recognizes that even in the off years, we must continue to push the law and election officials toward a just democracy, where structural barriers and invidious acts of individuals do not prevent citizens from registering, casting a ballot and having it counted. --- Advancement Project is a national civil rights organization founded on the principle that structural racism can be eliminated and a racially just democracy may be attained through multi-racial collective action by organized communities. Advancement Project’s founding team of veteran civil rights lawyers and communications experts sought to establish an organization that would inform community organizing with careful legal analysis and strategic communications campaigns. We seek to develop community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras. |
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