Content Categorized with "Right to Vote Amendment"
21 - 30 of 44 results
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The Constitutional Right To Vote Blog:The Debate over Voter Identification at the Polls: Expanding our Vision
- Posted: February 14, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Rob Richie
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
The right to vote is at the heart of representative democracy. Upholding that right requires that every eligible voter should have easy access to voting, every vote should be tallied accurately and no ineligible vote should be cast. Both limiting access to voting and allowing fraudulent votes undercut determination of the "consent of the governed."
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The Constitutional Right to Vote Blog: Felon Disenfranchisement in Iowa
- Posted: January 20, 2011
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Felon Disenfranchisement, FairVote
Iowa is a poster child for what it means to fail to protect our right to vote in the U.S. Constitution: fundamental democratic rights can then be tossed around like a political football.
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The Constitutional Right to Vote Blog: Bush v. Gore, Ten Years Later
- Posted: December 14, 2010
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog, Jo McKeegan
- Categories: National Popular Vote, Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
Ten years ago, in December of 2000, the Supreme Court decided Bush v. Gore. The case remains one of the more dividing litmus tests in American politics.
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Being Pro-Voter is Not Partisan: 2010 Results Underscore how Republicans should not Fear Same-Day Voter Registration
- Posted: November 22, 2010
- Author(s): Rob Richie
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, FairVote
Upholding fair voter access and protecting voting rights should not be a partisan issue. In our decentralized system, however, some states do a better job at protecting these rights than others. Take for instance, the issue of Same Day Voter Registration (SDR); a sensible reform when implemented well which all too often has been inaccurately thought to advantage one major party (Democrats) at the expense of another (Republicans).
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Constitutional Right to Vote Blog: The Right to Vote- More Precious than a Bag of Chips
- Posted: November 18, 2010
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Felon Disenfranchisement
Prior to 2007 in Maryland, a person could have been disenfranchised for committing a variety of “infamous crimes” including the misdemeanor titled “unlawful operation of vending machines”.
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The Constitutional Right to Vote Blog: What elections tell us about how we protect the vote
- Posted: November 3, 2010
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment
Without clear constitutional protections, each individual citizen’s right to have a vote cast properly on Election Day is not constitutionally ensured. Missteps can and should be avoided with proper investment, training and attention to the mechanics of our elections. Voter apathy could be at least partially addressed with better civic education, starting in schools, but continuing into adult life with resources like voter guides. Until voting becomes a specifically enumerated right, we can expect to see concerns continue.
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The Constitutional Right to Vote Blog: Election Day 2010, the DOJ, and the Right to Vote
- Posted: November 1, 2010
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment
With Election Day just hours away, it is important that voters know of the resources available to them, in the event they witness something go wrong at the polls.
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Election Day: A Reminder about the Urgent Need for a Constitutionally Protected Right to Vote
- Posted: October 28, 2010
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment
As part a proposal to revamp our current election procedures, we should expand the practice of same-day voter registration (also called Election Day Registration), which is now the law in several states, and the District of Columbia. Same day registration (SDR) allows voters to register the day they cast a ballot. It has been known to increase voter turnout by as much as 12%.
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The Constitutional Right to Vote Blog
- Posted: October 21, 2010
- Author(s): Right to Vote Blog
- Categories: Right to Vote Amendment, Felon Disenfranchisement
We must elevate the right to vote to the same standing as other fundamental democratic rights, such as freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. Our vote is our voice. Each day brings new examples of why such protections are needed, which will be frequently chronicled in this blog.
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Virginia Governor takes action to improve voting rights
- Posted: September 28, 2010
- Author(s): Jo McKeegan
- Categories: Home, Right to Vote Amendment, Felon Disenfranchisement
The process of removing the right to vote from a person convicted of a crime was invented by the Romans and dubbed “civil death”. It is a process that several states in America still implement today, grounded in the disturbing fact that the U.S. Constitution does not provide a citizenship right to vote.
In most states, a person who has completed serving a felony conviction is allowed to register to vote. Other states restrict this right, and in a few remaining states like Virginia, this punishment is a lifelong ban unless a waiver is granted by the governor. Anyone moving into such a state with a past felony conviction will be breaking the law if they vote, even if coming from a state where they had full suffrage rights.