Fighting Voter Suppression
“On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments about the state’s strict new photo ID law, which is allegedly intended to prevent voter fraud. ... The law will result in disproportionate harm to minorities, people with low incomes and senior citizens. The court should enter an injunction against it before the November elections.”
“Cynthia Houston, 84, had a flash of grumpiness when she went to vote yesterday in Boscawen: Her husband reminded her that she was supposed to bring a photo ID after they'd already gotten in line in the basement of the Congregational church.”
“On Wednesday, in the heat of another pitched American battle over voting rights, one that is playing out in courthouses and state capitals all across the nation, the Senate Judiciary Committee met yet again to remind us of how tenuous the right to vote still is in this country. ... The hearing was called "The Citizens United Court and the Continuing Importance of the Voting Rights Act" and, as the title suggests, it was an attempt by the Democratic leadership on the Committee to connect together on Capitol Hill two legal trends of recent vintage, each beginning in 2010.”
Testifying today before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the continuing importance of the Voting Rights Act, Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters of the United Stat
“The November elections are less than two months away, and Pennsylvania has a new voter identification law... That worries the League of Women Voters of the Lewisburg Area. ... “I have a concern that a lot of people aren’t aware of what they need to vote,” said Sue Travis, who’s in charge of the group’s voter ID project. “That’s part of the reason we’re doing this.” ... What the league is doing is its “Got Your Photo ID?” campaign...”
On Wednesday, September 12, LWVUS President Elisabeth Macnamra testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary at a hearing entitled "The Citizens United Court and the Continuing Importance of the Voting Rights Act."
“The Justice Department has cleared New Hampshire's voter ID law under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Unlike voter ID laws DOJ has challenged, voters who lack an acceptable form of photo identification will be allowed to cast a ballot if they sign an affidavit confirming their identity.”
“Three groups that convinced judges to throw out Wisconsin's voter ID requirement have asked the Supreme Court not to take over the cases and act on them before the November elections. The League of Women Voters, the N-A-A-C-P...”
“How South Carolina election officials accommodate voters unable to get required photo identification before going to the polls is playing a key role in the legal fight over whether the state’s strict voter ID law discriminates against minorities. ... Closing arguments are scheduled for Sept. 24, six weeks before the Nov. 6 election. ...the law, if approved by the panel, would go into effect immediately. If it’s struck down, the state could appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.”