Content Categorized with "Voting Rights"
21 - 30 of 30 results
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True The Vote Fudges the Numbers in New Turnout Study
- Posted: February 28, 2013
- Author(s): Andrea Levien
- Categories: Home, Voting Rights
True the Vote, an organization dedicated to eradicating voter fraud through controversial methods, issued a report on February 27 concluding that new voter ID laws not only did not have an adverse impact on turnout in the 2012 elections, but may have increased turnout. But it turns out the report’s authors made a huge methodological mistake.
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FairVote Agrees: Preserve the Voting Rights Act
- Posted: February 27, 2013
- Author(s): Mollie Hailey
- Categories: Home, Voting Rights
The right to vote is essential for a truly representative democracy, and legislation implemented with widespread support in Congress to enhance this right, such as Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, should be upheld.
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The Role of Fair Voting Systems in the Shelby County Case
- Posted: February 21, 2013
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Drew Spencer
- Categories: Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Home, Voting Rights
On February 27, the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in the case of Shelby County v. Holder, reviewing the constitutionality of Section 5 "preclearance" provisions of the Voting Rights Act. A largely overlooked part of the case is the fact that Section 5 was the reason that Calera, a growing city in Alabama's Shelby County just south of Birmingham, adopted one of the fair voting systems we recommend to uphold voting rights.
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Who Needs to Fix That? We Do.
- Posted: January 7, 2013
- Author(s): Elizabeth Hudler
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Home, Voting Rights, FairVote
When President Barack Obama paused in his victory speech, thanking voters for waiting in long lines to vote but noting 'we have to fix that', one might have assumed that reform would come from the top.
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A Representative Congress: Enhancing African American Voting Rights in the South with Choice Voting
- Posted: November 27, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Drew Spencer
- Categories: Reforms, Fair Voting/Proportional Representation, Congressional Elections, Home, Redistricting, Voting Rights, FairVote
In southern states, racially polarized elections remain an active part of political life. Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has guaranteed that African Americans in the South cannot be shut out of elections either through direct barriers to voting or through discriminatory districts that prevent the achievement of representation. However, relying on winner-take-all elections has inherent limitations. In the belt of southern states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas, the use of districting to achieve a fairer level of representation for African Americans has hit a ceiling. To push through that ceiling and achieve truly fair representation, FairVote recommends abandoning the single-member district in favor of super districts elected by choice voting.
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From the Mouth of the President to the Ears of the People: We Have to Fix That
- Posted: November 8, 2012
- Author(s): Elizabeth Hudler
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Universal Voter Registration, Voting Rights, FairVote
As was expected, problems at the polls abounded on November 6, nationwide. While glitches were reported across the country, voter-rights watchers paid particular attention to the swing states, where obstacles to ballot access in the form of registration ambiguities, voting-day misinformation, voter suppression tactics, and long, exhausting (and cold!) lines had potential to lower turnout and affect outcomes. President Barack Obama in his acceptance speechTuesday night, thanked people for waiting in those lines --- and then added, “By the way, we have to fix that.”
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Stamp Out Democracy on the Cheap
- Posted: November 5, 2012
- Author(s): Patricia Hart
- Categories: Home, Voting Rights
One first class stamp: 45 cents. One extra ounce to ship: 20 cents. Voting in a democracy: priceless.
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Texas Congressional Redistricting: Beyond Last Week's Section 5 Ruling
- Posted: September 7, 2012
- Author(s): Rob Richie, Drew Spencer
- Categories: Home, Redistricting, Voting Rights
Texas has had problems with redistricting - yet again. Last week's federal court ruling that Texas's 2011 plans for congressional districts and state legislative districts had both the purpose and effect of further reducing the representation of Texas's already underrepresented racial minority populations is just the state's latest salvo in the redistricting wars. We show that there's another way: fair voting plans.
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Statement in Support of the Voter Empowerment Act (HR 5799)
- Posted: May 18, 2012
- Categories: Voting Rights
The Voter Empowerment Act recognizes the obligation of Congress to uphold voting rights for all American citizens. FairVote applauds the 123 U.S. House Members who sponsored the bill, and we call for a greater commitment from Congress to treat the right to vote as an American value.
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Arkansas Voter ID Law Struck Down
- Posted: April 29, 2014
- Author(s): Matthew Bugajski
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Home, Universal Voter Registration, Voting Rights
An explicit right to vote in the U.S. Constitution would prevent future debates over voter ID law.