FairVote: The Center for Voting and Democracy

Presents:

Guaranteeing the Municipal

Right To Vote

Mission Statement

For years FairVote has promoted the right to vote initiative, which advocates major changes in the current system of voting in America. In the past our right to vote project has been tailored towards passing a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote. Yet, it has become clear that this will be a very difficult task taking a number of years and a great deal of support and activism. The best way to earn this support is by enacting the ideals of the constitutional amendment at the local level. Our right to vote can be stripped from us at anytime, it is our civic duty to make sure that this type of crime is no longer allowed to occur within our community.

Key Issues

Short term

– Get municipal reform project off the ground in a few key states

– Implement the 100% Registration Project

Long term

– A Constitutional Right to Vote

– Implementing the Eight Steps for Voting Rights Reform

What regions to focus our efforts on

Current Status

HJ Res 28 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States regarding the right to vote.Sponsor: Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] (introduced 3/2/2005)     Cosponsors (58) Committees: House Judiciary Latest Major Action: 3/2/2005 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on the judiciary.

VRA renewal and need to shift to local level– Recently voting rights advocates at the national level have

shifted their focus towards the renewal of the Voting Rights Act in 2007

– FairVote has changed gears and is attempting to reform municipalities to fall more into line with the ideals of the Right to Vote; key states to focus on are Ohio, Maryland, Florida and Georgia

Action Plan

Research the region Comprehend Right to Vote material Cooperate with advocate groups in the region Decide upon course of reform action Get voting rights material out to local activists Utilize local media to draw attention to upcoming

action Attend municipal/state government meetings and

propose ideas

Legality

Municipalities can set local election laws so long as they are not in direct interference with state laws.

When something is stated in the state constitution in the negative, only then can a law produced by the municipality be overturned.

Case Study: East Cleveland, Ohio

Election held in June 6th, 1916 allows women to vote

Women’s right to vote upheld in The State, Ex Rel. Taylor, v. French Et Al. April 3,1917

19th amendment guarantees the right to vote for all women in the U.S.

19th amendment is passed on Aug. 18, 1920

Opportunities for Reform

Draft Resolution– Allow for the organization of local member groups to aid in the

pursuit of major goals

Task Force– A legislative commission approved by government authority to

conduct an enquiry on a particular subject.

City Charter Review– Public forums held once or twice a year wherein reforms to the

charter can be proposed and enforced

Amendment to the Charter– The best method for applying our reforms, but may be limited by

particular city charters

Draft Resolution

Draft resolution for secular/government organizations– Sample Template

Draft resolution for religious organizations– Sample Template

Draft resolution for municipal/state government– Actually uses charter language, and can be inserted

directly into the section of the charter concerning elections and nominations.

Task Force

Most task forces require a piece of legislation to be proposed by a council member

Citizens can petition the attorney general to look into the legality of the proposal

In some cases citizens can even petition the legislature as a whole to assign a task force to the topic

The Election Reform task force would look at the feasibility, practicality, and the benefits of reviewing the charter and adding a universal right to vote

City Charter Review

Every city/state has a charter review commission which meets to discuss these types of issues – These meetings are public, and citizens must bring the

right to vote issue before the commission and press them for immediate action.

– These meetings must be attended consistently so that when the charter review commission goes before the county/state government, they will be thoroughly convinced of the validity of our project.

Amendment to the Charter

Though each state has a unique process for amending their charter, they are generally similar in their bottom-up approach– A petition must be signed by a certain proportion of

registered voters

– This petition is sent to the charter review commission which submits it too vote by the council, and if it is passed then it becomes charter law

Case Study: Takoma Park, Maryland

Voting rights reformed– 1992 Allow non-citizens the right to vote– Use of voter verified paper ballots in November 2005

elections– Instant Runoff Voting(IRV) advisory referendum won on

Nov 9th 2005• Nearly 84% of Tuesday's voters chose IRV

Yet still issues remain– Voter ID laws– No foreign language ballots– No guaranteed Right to Vote

Key Concepts

Eight Steps for Reform– Uniform Standards/Ballots and Real Accountability– Universal Voter Registration– Early Voting/Election Holiday– Fair Provisional Ballot and Voter ID laws– Public Interest Voting Machines– Voting Rights for All US citizens– Non Partisan Election Administration– A Constitutional Right To Vote

100% Registration Project

100% Registration Project

Full and accurate voter rolls– Improve motor voter campaign

High school voter registrationProper education provided for voters

– Constitution day– High school classes– Night classes– Mock voting

Goals & Objectives

Immediate goals– Begin to implement program within states– Organize NGO’s on this topic– Procure funding for local projects– 100% Registration Project

Long-Term goals– Have ideals of the amendment passed in various

regions around the country.– Secure constitutional amendment that guarantees every

citizen the right to vote.

Resources

All provided at Fairvote.org– Op-Ed’s, editorials, and scholarly articles– Historical documents– FAQ’s– Fact sheets– Huge list of advocate organizations and

individuals

Conclusions

HAVA as a minimum– HAVA has basic standards that are currently not being

upheld in state/municipal election A Municipal Right To Vote

– Implement the tactics mentioned above to guarantee the right to vote in municipalities

A Constitutional Right To Vote– Using the strength of the Municipal Right to Vote

campaign to foster the growth of the Constitutional Right To Vote campaign