Voting Rights News & Updates
PA Senate Passes Online Voter Registration Bill
The Pennsylvania Senate passed SB37 without amendment on Wednesday, April 17th, moving forward an important update to the state’s voter registration system. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for a vote. Read more
2012 Election Protection Report Released
Election Protection and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law recently released, “The 2012 Election Protection Report: Our Broken Voting System and How To Repair It.” The report compiles research, vignettes and personal testimonies on the systemic problems that plagued the 2012 elections. Our work with the ACLU of Pennsylvania and the Advancement Project in securing an injunction of the Voter ID law is highlighted in the report. Read more
Commission on Election Administration Established
Through Executive Order, President Obama recently established the Presidential Commission on Election Administration to develop best practices and recommendations for improving the country’s current voting systems. Read more
Arkansas Voter ID Bill Vetoed and Overriden
Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe recently vetoed a bill that would require voters to show identification before casting a vote. Days later, legislators in the State House of Representatives overrode his veto. Read more
PA State Representatives Reintroduce Repeal of Voter ID Law
On February 15, 2013, State Representatives Dwight Evans and Ron Waters announced plans to reintroduce a bill to repeal Act 18, Pennsylvania’s Voter ID law. Read more
City of Philadelphia Requests Feedback From Voters
The City of Philadelphia issued a press release on January 28, 2013 requesting public feedback about voter experience on Election Day, November 6, 2012. Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Managing Director Richard Negrin seek this feedback to help the Mayor’s Office analyze the problems that occurred on election day and make recommendations for future improvement. Read more
City Commission Identifies Ways to Improve Provisional Ballot Procedures in Philadelphia
Philadelphia City Commissioner, Stephanie Singer, lead a forensic investigation to examine the City’s excess number of provisional ballots. Based on the investigation, she has identified specific areas within the Philadelphia voting process needing improvement. There were 27,000 provisional ballots cast in Philadelphia; of those votes, 7,000 were not counted. Read more
New Proposed Legislation to Authorize Early Voting
Representative Anthony DeLuca has introduced legislation, HB 361, to authorize early voting in Pennsylvania. Read more
Report Demonstrates Obstacles to Obtaining PennDOT ID
The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center has released a report that illustrates just how confusing and difficult it can be for voters to get ID at a PennDOT location. 47 volunteers seeking an ID for voting purposes at 43 different PennDOT locations found several obstacles: Read more
“UFO Sightings Are More Common Than Voter Fraud”
MotherJones breaks down the actual occurances of voter fraud, illustrating that, contrary to what supporters of Voter ID laws will tell you, it almost never occurs. The article also identifies how many people stand to be affected by the voter-restriction laws passed by states across the country.
Pennsylvania Facing Lawsuit for Alleged Failure to Provide Voter Registration at Public Assistance Agencies
A coalition of national voting rights groups, including Project Vote and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have filed suit against the Commonwealth for failing to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Read more
Costly Sideshow: Voter ID Law is Nothing but Trouble
An editorial by the Patriot-News Editorial Board published on June 8, 2012 illustrates the costly effects of the Voter ID law. Obtaining identification may sound simple; however, for the estimated 320,000 voters who don’t have a drivers license, the majority of whom are seniors and minorities, it is anything but. Read more