Fighting Voter Suppression and Intimidation | Center for Effective Government

Supreme Court Upholds "Preclearance" Provision in 1965 Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the "preclearance" provision in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (NAMUDNO) v. Holder, a case in which a small utility district in Texas challenged Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5, reauthorized by Congress in 2006, applies to all or parts of 16 states. It requires those states to get federal approval before changing election rules or procedures, due to past laws and practices that discriminated against and disenfranchised racial minorities. This provision is referred to as the "preclearance" provision.

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Report Demonstrates Continued Importance of Nonprofit Voter Engagement at Election Time

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009—Today, OMB Watch released a report, How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008, that demonstrates the continued importance of nonprofit voter engagement in the United States.

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Conyers Introduces Bills Protecting Voter Rights in Election Aftermath

During the 2008 presidential election season, there were numerous allegations of attempts to disenfranchise legitimate voters. Some of the techniques involved voter caging, voter purging, and deceptive practices. To prevent the use of these techniques in the future, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced legislation that would ban deceptive practices and eliminate voter caging. He also introduced a bill that would restore voting rights to numerous individuals who have been convicted of felonies and would make Election Day a holiday.

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Nonprofit Voter Protection Efforts Going Full Tilt

Nonprofit organizations have taken an active role in voter protection efforts this election season, leading the way with voter registration initiatives, fighting unlawful voter purges, protecting student voting rights, and fighting voter ID requirements, among other activities.

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Voter Purging Allegations Arise as November Election Nears

As the November elections near, more allegations of voter purging are cropping up. Michigan, a closely watched swing state in the presidential election, has been a hotbed of voter purging issues in recent weeks. Florida, another swing state, also finds itself in the midst of voter purging issues. Nonprofit organizations, individual citizens, and political parties have recently filed lawsuits alleging that voters are being unlawfully removed from the eligible voter pools.

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Federal Court Denies Injunction and Upholds Strict Voter Registration Fines in Florida

On Aug. 6, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied the League of Women Voters of Florida's (LWVF) request for a preliminary injunction to prevent a harsh voter registration law from taking affect. The law levies substantial fines on organizations that register voters and that do not promptly deliver the completed voter registration forms to the Florida Division of Elections. While the law does prescribe tougher penalties for willful misconduct, it does not grant exemptions for undue hardships or for inadvertent errors.

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Inconsistent Enforcement: IRS Findings in NAACP and All Saints Church Cases

A comparison of two high profile IRS investigations into allegations of election intervention - the All Saints Church and NAACP cases -highlights the vagueness of the regulation and the inconsistency of IRS enforcement. According to OMB Watch's analysis, the facts and circumstances of the All Saints Church and NAACP cases are very similar, but the IRS findings were very different.

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Nonprofits Mobilize to Fight Voter Suppression

A growing body of state laws and regulations governing voter registration and the voting process create barriers to voting that discriminate against minorities, new citizens and the elderly. Nonprofits are challenging these new voter suppression tactics, including filing several lawsuits. These voter drives build off efforts that support election reform programs mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and these developments illustrate just how important nonprofit organizations are as vehicles of civic participation.

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Roundup: Recent Nonprofit Efforts to Protect Voting Rights

Updated November 3, 2006. Nonprofits across the country are mobilizing to fight voter suppression efforts. Recently enacted state laws, one proposed regulation and a bill in Congress have united some nonprofits in an effort to curb government sponsored voter discrimination and suppression. Challenges brought by nonprofits have resulted in court victories, and decisions on proposed regulations are pending. These battles are being waged in a pivotal election year, amidst a backdrop of national efforts to curb voting registration, and a recent effort by some members of Congress to limit the reach of the landmark Voting Rights Act Reauthorization. This article provides a roundup of recent decisions and nonprofit efforts.

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Nonprofits File Suit Contesting Ohio's New Voter Registration Requirements

A coalition of organizations and individuals have filed suit to stop new voter registration rules in Ohio, charging they are designed to suppress the registration of minority and economically disadvantaged voters.

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