Nonprofits and Voter Mobilization

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Judge Rules Michigan Voter Purging Program Illegal

Oct 16, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

A Judge recently ruled that a Michigan program that requires clerks to purge voters whose voter cards are returned as undeliverable violates federal law. The National Voter Registration Act allows voters to remain on the election roles for two cycles after the voter registration cards are returned as undeliverable. According to an ACLU press release, the Judge ordered the state of Michigan to "immediately discontinue their practice of canceling or rejecting a voter's registration based upon the return of the voter's original voter identification card as undeliverable."

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New Fact Sheet for 501(c)(3) Groups On Proper Contact With Campaigns

Oct 8, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

The Alliance for Justice has released a new fact sheet for 501(c)(3) organizations on how to interact with political campaigns and parties. To read Permissible Nonpartisan 501(c)(3) and Partisan Campaign Contact on Voter Engagement/Protection Efforts, click here. The fact sheet is focused on voter protection issues, and when 501(c)(3) voter-protection groups can talk with political candidates or parties.

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Ex-Offender Voter Rights Confuse Alabama Officials

Oct 7, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

If you are an ex-offender seeking to vote in Alabama, your voter rights may hinge on which voter list the Alabama Board of Registrars uses to determine your eligibility. Alabama officials have given the registrars conflicting lists regarding which felony convictions prevent individuals from voting. Alabama law prohibits individuals convicted of felonies of "moral turpitude" from voting, unless their rights are restored. The problem is that the term "moral turpitude" has not been defined by Alabama statute or case law.

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Early Voting is Changing the Meaning of Election Day

Oct 1, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Across the nation, millions of people are already in the process of voting for the next President of the United States. The emerging popularity of early voting has changed the manner in which elections are conducted. Paul Gronke, a researcher with the Early Voting Information Center in Portland, Oregon, told the Washington Post that, "early voting, by mail or in person, is becoming more common and is likely to account for one-third of all votes cast in the November elections, up from 14 percent in 2000."

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Alabama Halts Prison Voter Registration Drive

Sep 26, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Alabama Prison Commissioner Richard Allen halted voter registration drives inside state prisons after receiving complaints from Alabama Republican Party officials. According to the Associated Press, Alabama Republican Chairman Mike Hubbard told Commissioner Allen in a September 26 letter that "the party supports the idea of registering more people to vote. But he says that doesn't extend to prisoners." Various groups began registering prisoners inside Alabama state prisons earlier this week, so that the prisoners could cast absentee ballots in the November elections.

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Criminal Prosecutors Will Not Be Stationed at Polls on Election Day

Sep 25, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

Following complaints from civil rights groups, the Justice Department announced on September 23 that it will not station criminal prosecutors at polls on Election Day. The civil rights groups fear that the presence of criminal prosecutors may intimidate minority voters. According to the Associated Press, "[t]he move reverses a decades-long practice that put prosecutors on the lookout for voter fraud, ballot access violations and other polling problems."

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Voter Intimidation Bill Stalled

Sep 24, 2008 by Amanda Adams*

According to electionline.org the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Act (S. 453) is stalled in the Senate. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said they are working with the Senate on the bill and encouraged advocates to get in touch when they identify cases of deceptive practices and voter intimidation. "Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said he agreed with the need to combat deceptive practices but expressed his disappointment that the deceptive practices bill has languished in the Senate since October 2007."

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IRS Will Review Complaint Concerning ADF's Pulpit Freedom Sunday

Sep 23, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has agreed to review a complaint by three former top IRS officials that the Alliance Defense Fund's (ADF) "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" violates federal tax law. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is part of an initiative asking churches to defy the IRS's prohibition against partisan politicking by preaching sermons that support or oppose a candidate for political office. ADF distributed information about "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" at the Value Voters Summit 2008, which was held on September, 20.

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Veterans Administration Again Reverses Itself to Allow Some Voter Registration Drives

Over the past several months, support has been growing to allow voter registration efforts at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities. In a reverse of policy, the VA will no longer ban voter registration drives for veterans living at federally operated nursing homes, shelters for the homeless, and rehabilitation centers across the country. A week after this change, the House passed the Veterans Voter Support Act to legislatively protect such activity and to ensure that the VA allow voter registration drives by nonpartisan groups. However, the VA told a Senate committee that it opposes the legislation in its current form.

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House Passes VA Voter Registration Bill

Sep 18, 2008 by Lateefah Williams*

A bill passed the House yesterday that will ensure that non-partisan groups and election officials have the right to register voters at VA facilities. H.R. 6625, the Veterans Voting Support Act, passed by oral vote. According to an AlterNet article, "[i]t requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to accommodate non-partisan groups seeking to register veterans living at VA facilities, and also allows top state election officials to designate the VA as a voter registration agency like state motor vehicle departments."

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