Voter Registration
“A board member of the League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area [IN] said she’s concerned about voter suppression in the coming November presidential election. ... Barbara Schilling, of Hammond, said far too many Hoosiers are unaware they could be denied the right to vote if they have changed their name (usually through marriage) or moved and changed addresses since registering to vote.”
“A little rain did not dampen the spirits of The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Oxford [OH], who registered Miami University students to vote... The League registered 110 students to vote at the registration event, which is more than triple the students who registered last year... LWV invited College Democrats and College Republicans to assist in the registration.”
“Wisconsin students and young voters got a big boost on Tuesday when the state board overseeing elections adopted a policy allowing people registering to vote on Election Day in November to present identifying documents from a laptop or portable digital device.”
“Fortunately, federal courts are seeing these efforts for what they are: a variation on the racist laws that disenfranchised millions before those tactics were outlawed by the Voting Rights Act. … These federal courts were careful to respect state sovereignty. But they were also mindful that state laws that suppress minority votes cannot be allowed to stand.”
“A federal judge said on Wednesday that he planned to block provisions of a Florida measure that made it harder for organizations to register voters in the state. ... Deirdre Macnab, the president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which suspended its operations for a year, said she was delighted with the ruling.”
“...Since the provision on voting registration was overruled in Florida...the League of Women Voters has once again kick started their campaign to register and update the voter registrations...to get to hundreds of thousands of persons before the deadline. ... Yet, president Deirdre Macnab admits while they’re high on enthusiasm they’re way behind on registration. ‘...there’s so much ground you can cover...’”
“Sunday marks the 92nd anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the constitutional amendment that granted women the right to vote. The League of Women Voters of East Alabama will celebrate what has come to be known as Women's Equality Day by helping prepare voters for this fall’s big election with a series of voter registration events.”
“After taking the Oath of Allegiance...the new citizens hustled over to the auditorium to finalize paperwork and, for many, to register to vote. ... That’s where the League of Women Voters of Arlington [VA] came in. ... With just a few weeks’ notice, the organization mobilized to provide voter-registration services for all eight of the citizenship ceremonies.”
“Starting...Aug. 18, Arlington [VA] will be hosting a month-long series of naturalization ceremonies for some 3,100 new U.S. citizens. ... Also present at the ceremonies will be several dozen volunteers from the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Arlington, who will be conducting non-partisan, on-site voter registration drives.”
Editorial Note: This piece was first published on my Huffington Post Blog. 47 years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law to prevent voter discrimination.