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If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The major impact of the law has been to prevent many non-Latino citizens -- most likely the elderly, the young, and others less likely to have the requisite documents readily at hand -- from registering.
There is no doubt that the opportunity to re-elect America's first black president contributed to record black turnout last year. But, no matter who is on the ballot in 2014 and 2016, we must continue to exercise our voice. We must continue to exercise our vote.
Almost 16 million Americans have registered or re-registered every year under National Voter Registration Act provisions. Many people today don't remember a time when they couldn't register at their local DMV. Yet, there is work to be done.
Some states continue to push needless restrictions on the ability of citizens to participate in elections, and voters and their advocates must remain vigilant against any such efforts. Still, the trend is unmistakable: After years of backsliding, states are embracing free, fair, and accessible elections.
North Carolina is one of the latest examples of this effort, where Republicans are attempting to pass bills that would require voter ID at the polls, reduce early voting hours and eliminate same day voter registration.
On May 11, the world's second most populous Muslim country, Pakistan, marked a historic election. But as Pakistanis rushed to the polling stations to cast their vote, more than 4 million people sat home, separated and disenfranchised.
There are some rights that are so fundamental to our society that you'd think the public debate would be closed on them. The right of every American citizen to vote -- regardless of age, race, or income level -- is one of them. Yet today, this fundamental right is under attack.
Last week, the Delaware State legislature approved a constitutional amendment to allow people with nonviolent felony convictions to vote after their release from prison. This is a major step forward for a nation still struggling to heal old racial wounds.
Americans need to push back strongly against anyone who would weaken the Voting Rights Act or who propose electoral policies that are at best simply divisive, and at worst direct attacks on the ability of people to participate in the process.
Now comes word that on Monday night, Scalia told a group of students that the provision is an "embedded" form of "racial preferment." Even aside from improperly commenting on a pending case, Scalia is wrong.
For the right-wing, shooting must be protected from any restrictions. Voting, however, must be as restricted as possible.
This week, the Takoma Park city council passed a charter amendment by a 6-1 vote on first reading that, if approved when before the council again in the coming month, will be in the best tradition of cities and states leading the nation in advancing voting rights.
Protecting our democracy starts with protecting the fundamental right to vote. The U.S. is one of only eleven of the 119 democratic countries in the world that do not explicitly provide the right to vote in their Constitutions.
At a time when this country needs to pull together, when the world is embroiled in difficult financial and life-changing struggles there are states that are trying to rip our democracy apart.
Rising civic participation among young voters should be greeted with the same bipartisan joy with which the 26th Amendment passed. But instead, it's been met with the opposite: a barrage of state-level laws meant to make it harder for young people to vote.
Life is increasingly busy. People are spending more time working, traveling and trying to make ends meet in a rough economy. What better timing for policymakers to make seemingly innocuous changes to something as important as voting rights and slip them past a preoccupied electorate?
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