The Fight for the Vote 2012

January 2012

2

Registering [poor people] to vote is like

handing out burglary tools to criminals. 

It is profoundly antisocial and un-

American to empower the nonproductive

segments of the population to destroy the

country — which is precisely why Barack

Obama zealously supports registering

welfare recipients to vote.Columnist Matthew Vadum

3

“Voting as a liberal. You know, that’s what

kids do. They don’t have experience and

just vote their feelings...”New Hampshire House Speaker William

O’Brien

4

“[T]his endless cheerleading — let’s go to

the rock concerts and register the kids. . .

I’m just saying we shouldn’t have these

“Get Out The Vote” campaigns and make

these statements: “Everyone has to vote.

It’s your patriotic duty!” Well if you’re not

paying attention, I think it’s your patriotic

duty not to vote.John Stossel, Fox News

Demographic Shifts

5

From 2011 – 2031, 10,000 people per day will reach 65 years of age. For persons 80 and over, the

population growth rate is twice that of those 65 and over and almost 4x that for the total population.

Growth rate for populations by ethnicity/race:

Hispanic/Latino 43%

Black 12%

Asian 43%

Non-Hispanic White 1.2%

Nature and Impact of Voting Restrictions

6

New Voting Restrictions

7

Restrictive photo ID: 7 passed, 37 introduced

Documentary proof of citizenship: 3 passed, 13 introduced

Making voter registration harder: 5 passed, 13 introduced

Reducing absentee and early voting: 5 passed, 9 introduced

Harder to restore voting rights: 2 executive actions

No-Photo, No-Vote Voter ID Requirements

8

34 states introduced laws to require some form of government-issued photo ID in order to vote.

Laws have passed in: AL, KS, MS, RI, SC, TN, TX, WI (Vetoed: MN, MO, MT, NH & NC)

Photo ID laws are pending: MN, NH, PA, TN & VA

Constitutional Amendment Ballot Measure: MO

Proof of Citizenship for Registration

9

13 states introduced laws to require proof of citizenship for purposes of voter registration.

Laws have passed in: KS, TN & AL

Proof of citizenship laws are pending: SC

Rates of Proof of Identity & Citizenship

10

11% of Americans lack photo ID

18% of Americans over 65 lack photo ID

25% of African Americans lack photo ID

18% of young people aged 18 – 24 lack photo ID

At least 7% of Americans lack proof of citizenship

34% of women lack proof of citizenship with current legal name

Restrictions on Voter Registration

11

Texas and Florida passed legislation starkly restricting third-party voter registration drives with pending laws in South Carolina and Michigan.

Additional laws in Wisconsin and Ohio reducing ability of voters to move within counties and remain registered

Restrictions on Voter Registration

12

Hundreds of thousands registered through drives in Florida in both 2004 and 2008

African-American and Hispanic voters are twice as likely to register through drives as white voters

Restrictions on Access to the Ballot

13

Laws reducing early voting signed into law in five states: FL, GA, OH, TN & WV

Elimination of “Golden Week” in Ohio – overlap that allowed same-day registration during the first week of early voting. In-person voting period from 35 days to 11 with Sat afternoon and Sunday eliminated entirely.

Elimination of “Souls to the Polls Sunday” in Florida – Sunday before Election Day and reduced early voting period from two weeks to one week.

Eliminating Sunday voting: Florida 2008

Hispanic voters

1 20.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%35%

25%

15%

5%

African-American voters

% of CVAP

1 20.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%25%

15%

5%

% ofCVAP

% voted Sunday before Election Day

% voted Sunday before Election Day

Making it Harder to Restore Voting Rights

15

Up to 1 million disenfranchised in Florida

* 1 in 4 is African American* 150,000 had voting rights restored under Governor Crist’s process

Reversal of executive orders automatically restoring voting rights to persons with felony convictions

80,000 had voting rights restored in Iowa under Governor Vilsack’s order

Assault on Student Rights

16

Texas and Tennessee:Conceal-carry gun licenses are accepted; student IDs are not acceptedNew Hampshire:“Voting as a liberal. You know, that’s what kids do. They don’t have experience and just vote their feelings...”Maine:targeting students paying out-of-state tuition or displaced by natural disaster

17

79%

Source: Voting Law Changes in 2012, Brennan Center for Justice

Demographics and Democratic Power

18

Demographic population growth direct proportion to the populations most severely affected by restrictive voting laws

With respect to race, redistricting patterns may ultimately demonstrate a reinforcement of these patterns resulting in serious impact on the ability of populations to create and develop effective infrastructure for political engagement.

Brennan Center for Justice

Voting Rights and Elections Team

lawrence.norden@nyu.edu – Deputy Director

myrna.perez@nyu.edu – Senior Counsel

keesha.gaskins@nyu.edu – Senior Counsel

lee.rowland@nyu.edu - Counseldiana.kasdan@nyu.edu - Counsel

19