Joseph "Jazz" Hayden, prison rights activst and righteous co-host of
On the Count, was forced out of the show but went on to bigger and
better things: WBAI's loss. Follow the links in this to read more
about him:
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/voting/c1.html
DEMOS is a good organization to track as well. (The director once
let a group of activists from WBAI hold a meeting there when we could
not find space for a meeting anywhere else.)
cmb
Election Day, the Movie
Award-winning director Katy Chevigny captures the drama of typical
U.S. elections in her new documentary,
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/67a5f78ba2298c3e/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Election
Day. The filmmaker and her crew shot events in 14 states during the
2004 presidential election, offering a rare look at our election
process and voters' stories from every region of the country. Demos
board member Spencer Overton consulted on the project; former Demos
staffer and Unlock the Block Director Joseph "Jazz" Hayden is
featured. Election Day premiered on PBS' P.O.V. ("Point of View") on
July 1, 2008.
Katy Chevigny and P.O.V. are encouraging community organizers,
educational institutions, and youth organizers to host screenings and
discussions in their communities. Visit
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/f4786313edb9ca55/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/electionday/about_borrow.html
for details.
Democracy Dispatches
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/ce38a3934687ac00/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/040b181c08259f57/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>About
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/c024152f0efa1e1c/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Past
Dispatches
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Us
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July 2008
Victory for Public Assistance Clients and National NVRA Campaign:
Federal Court Orders Missouri Department of Social Services to Offer
Voter Registration
In a sweeping
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/22c298ce41dd8520/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Order
issued on July 15, 2008, United States District Judge Nanette K.
Laughrey directed the Missouri Department of Social Services to
immediately comply with a federal law requiring state public
assistance agencies to provide voter registration applications and
assistance to their clients. The ruling came in a
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/49300c42c34cb4ab/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>lawsuit
filed in April 2008 by the Association of Community Organizations for
Reform Now (ACORN) and St. Louis resident Dionne O'Neal charging
widespread violations of the federal National Voter Registration Act
(NVRA). Thousands of low-income Missouri residents stand to
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/199565ab5aacc93d/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>benefit
from the victory; voter registration at the state's public assistance
have dropped by 89 percent since 1995-1996.
The Order was the latest success in a four-year national campaign to
ensure states comply with the NVRA's requirement that states offer
voter registration in public assistance agencies. It came on the
heels of a July 9 preliminary injunction hearing where Demos, the
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Dewey LeBouef LLP
presented evidence for the plaintiffs.
Demos, other Voting Rights Groups Urge VA Secretary Peake to
Encourage Voter Registration at VA Facilities
Demos, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, and the American
Association of People with Disabilities today
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/3f1a5742f881c6a4/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>called
on James B. Peake, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA), to reverse a recent decision that prohibits VA offices
and facilities from offering voter registration and potentially
registering tens of thousands of veterans. Peake declined a May 1,
2008 request by California Secretary of State Debra Bowen that he
agree to the designation of VA sites in her state as voter
registration agencies, as permitted under the National Voter
Registration Act (NVRA). Connecticut Secretary of State Susan
Bysiewicz made a similar request on July 2, 2008.
The national voting rights groups-in conjunction with their
grassroots state-based chapters around the country-also sent
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/fc93bf5adea1ef2e/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>letters
to chief election officials in each state, calling on them to request
that the VA agree to the designation of its offices and facilities in
their states as voter registration agencies.
The VA has recently taken other steps that restrict voter
registration opportunities for America's veterans. On May 5, 2008,
the Veterans Health Administration issued Directive 2008-025,
prohibiting all voter registration drives at its medical facilities
and raising legal barriers to activities by nonpartisan voter
registration groups like the League of Women Voters. U.S. Senators
Feinstein, Kerry and Akaka, and 20 Secretaries of State have
separately called on VA Secretary Peake to rescind the new Directive
and help veterans register to vote.
Same Day Registration Delivers Over 300,000 Primary Votes
At least 300,000 Americans were able to vote during the 2008
presidential primaries this year because of Same Day Registration in
the four SDR states that held elections (NH, NC, WI and MT). The five
other SDR states hosted party caucuses.
Primary-day registrants numbered 210,039 in Wisconsin and 61,712 in
New Hampshire. These figures accounted for 13.8 percent and 7
percent, respectively, of total votes cast there. Montana allows
Election Day Registration at the county seat, rather than polling
places. Nevertheless, 8,189 voters took advantage of EDR on June 3,
despite the limitation. Montana's last-in-the-nation primary,
typically coming long after presidential candidates have clinched
party nominations, was critical this year in determining the
Democratic nominee.
Same Day Registration made its debut in the North Carolina
presidential primary on May 8; 22,293 Tar Heel residents took
advantage, registering and voting at the state's 'one-stop' early
voting sites. The early voting sites were opened for a 16-day period,
closing on the Saturday before Election Day.
The evidence from Wisconsin suggests that EDR is particularly
beneficial for young people - a highly mobile voting bloc. Voters
under 25 years old made up 74,846 of Wisconsin's primary day
registrants, accounting for over 35 percent of the total.
Age-specific voting data is not available for the other EDR states.
The high rate of SDR usage in the primaries, and heightened public
interest in this year's presidential election, suggest an important
role for Same Day Registration in the November balloting. States
offering EDR historically boast a 10-12 point higher turnout rate
than non-EDR states. Watch for voter turnout increases in Iowa and
North Carolina, the two newest EDR/SDR states.
Illinois Takes Steps Toward Election Day Registration: Study
Commission Hears Expert Testimony on EDR
Regina Eaton, Deputy Director of Demos' Democracy Program, spoke
before the
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/c47a3709d5c53676/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Illinois
Election Day Registration Commission at an informal meeting it
convened on June 25, 2008. The Commission was established by the
state legislature last year to study and report by January 1, 2009 on
possible EDR implementation there. Its eight members include four
legislators, three election officials and James Ascot, a private
citizen and commission chair. Ascot is the President of Ascot Realty
Group, Inc. The three other individuals invited were Barbara Hanson,
SVRS Project Director, Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
(formerly the Wisconsin State Board of Elections); Neil Albrecht,
Deputy Director, Milwaukee Elections Commission; and Daniel P.
Madden, General Counsel, Cook County, IL Clerk's Office.
The June 25 discussion primarily focused on the cost of EDR,
maintaining the integrity of election results, and the overall
management of voter registration on Election Day. The Wisconsin
panelists explained how Milwaukee, the largest EDR municipality in
the country, and the state of Wisconsin have successfully
administered Election Day Registration for 34 years. They also spoke
with great pride about being one of the nation's highest
voter-turnout states, which they in part attributed to EDR. The Cook
County Clerk also voiced support for EDR and eagerness to work with
the commission to explore ways for its implementation in Illinois.
Demos informed the Commission about states' rising interest in
Election Day Registration as a means of increasing voter turnout and
bring new people into the process, especially younger citizens. Eaton
and the Wisconsin representatives also invited commission members and
other interested parties to observe EDR first-hand during Wisconsin's
September 9 state primary election. Demos has facilitated similar,
well-received sites visits to other Election Day Registration states
in the past.
Election Day, the Movie
Award-winning director Katy Chevigny captures the drama of typical
U.S. elections in her new documentary,
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/67a5f78ba2298c3e/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>Election
Day. The filmmaker and her crew shot events in 14 states during the
2004 presidential election, offering a rare look at our election
process and voters' stories from every region of the country. Demos
board member Spencer Overton consulted on the project; former Demos
staffer and Unlock the Block Director Joseph "Jazz" Hayden is
featured. Election Day premiered on PBS' P.O.V. ("Point of View") on
July 1, 2008.
Katy Chevigny and P.O.V. are encouraging community organizers,
educational institutions, and youth organizers to host screenings and
discussions in their communities. Visit
<http://www.icebase.com/go2.shtml?sTHi55tBDKGygAFD/f4786313edb9ca55/b462d3632d8ec35d/cmcb007@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/electionday/about_borrow.html
for details.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wbaielections/
About democratic governance throughout Pacifica: join the conversation
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