Voting Rights
The first civil rights imperative facing President Bush is to restore confidence in the fairness of the system by which the President and other officials are elected. The problems experienced in the recent Presidential election — not just in Florida but also in other states — have undermined national confidence in the current electoral process. This must not be allowed to occur again in any state, in any election. If, according to Bush v. Gore, (531 U.S._(2000)), it is unconstitutional for a state to employ varying standards in conducting a manual recount of votes, surely it is unconstitutional for the state to employ differing technologies with widely varying reliability when it comes to administering other aspects of the electoral process.
The new Administration should immediately turn its attention to the electoral reforms needed to assure Americans that every vote counts. We urge the Bush Administration to work with Congress to develop legislation that:
- Addresses the problems uncovered in the recent election and provides adequate funding to carry out necessary remedies. Too many voters, including first time minority voters, were improperly turned away at the polls when they attempted to cast their ballots in the last election. The faults lie with outdated and improperly purged voting lists; inadequate support systems at local voting boards; and inadequate and mistaken information provided to voters, poll workers and others.
An immediate reform to address this issue, that will prevent the unjustified disenfranchisement of voters subsequently determined to be appropriately registered, is to provide for provisional ballots that are cast pending the outcome of any dispute with regard to a voter's eligibility to vote.
- Conditions any related federal funding upon satisfying specific procedural standards ("best practices") for the administration of elections and the eradication of practices that suppress voting. Such standards would include: (1) uniform, non-discriminatory election administration; (2) ease of access for the voter, including voters with disabilities; (3) safeguards against purging legally registered voters; and (4) non-discrimination, including full participation for language, racial, and ethnic minorities and equal access to independent voting for people with disabilities.
- Requires all polling places to have the most accurate voting equipment available. Much of the confusion and delay in finalizing the vote in the last election can be traced directly to the use of disparate voting technologies with widely varying accuracy.
- Protects the Voting Rights Act, the National Voter Registration Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act while ensuring that any activities under the new legislation are consistent with these laws.
Enforcing the Nation's Voting Rights Laws
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. §1973, as amended, ("VRA"), the National Voter Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. §1973gg ("NVRA"), and the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §12100, provide content to the constitutional guarantee that all U.S. citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process. The Voting Rights Act, in particular, is designed to remedy any racial discrimination in voting procedures. The Department of Justice is the key enforcer of these statutes. Vigilant and aggressive enforcement ensures that voters' rights are protected and that the political process is fair and open. Unfortunately, as demonstrated in the 2000 election, there is substantial evidence that many jurisdictions have failed to fully comply with these important civil rights laws.
The Department of Justice must reinvigorate its implementation and enforcement of the VRA and the NVRA, especially during the post-2000 Census redistricting cycle. Redistricting plans must not be drawn so as to exclude racial and ethnic minorities from the electoral process. Specifically:
- The Voting Section should employ its substantial personnel and other resources to enforce Section 2 of the VRA by investigating and filing cases under the Act and by ensuring that jurisdictions do not create redistricting plans that dilute the voting strength of minority voters.
- DOJ's Administrative review authority under Section 5 of the VRA must be used to prevent adoption and/or implementation of electoral practices that are intended to, or have the effect of, discriminating against minority voters. See, e.g., Reno v. Bossier Parish School Bd., 528 U.S. 320, 327-29 (2000).
- The Voting Section should have as a priority the investigation and remedying of violations of the NVRA in jurisdictions that have failed to fully implement the law by, e.g., refusing to designate a broad spectrum of agencies to maximize voter registration opportunities, particularly for disabled voters and voters on public assistance.
Language Assistance
Enforcement of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act must be a priority for the Administration.
The United States is a melting pot and its citizens speak a multitude of languages. The Constitution nowhere requires a U.S. citizen to pass an English proficiency test before being able to exercise his or her constitutional rights - including the right to vote. The failure of election officials to provide adequate assistance at polling places to Hispanic-Americans, Asian- Americans, Native Americans, Haitian-Americans and other registered voters with limited English-language proficiency effectively denied these citizens their rights to vote. It also may have violated Section 203 of the VRA, which mandates such assistance. The Administration must aggressively investigate and remedy violations of Section 203 to ensure that jurisdictions do not deny language minorities their right to participate fully in the political process guaranteed by law.
Repeal Felony Disenfranchisement Laws
We urge the Administration to support efforts to repeal or modify felony disenfranchisement laws so as to restore rights of the millions of Americans, especially those who have paid their debt to society and wish to resume their civic rights and responsibilities.
Laws disenfranchising felons and ex-felons have a racially disproportionate effect. They deny millions of African-American citizens the right to vote. Fourteen states disenfranchise for life ex-felons who have fully served their prison terms; 32 states disenfranchise felons on parole; 29 states disenfranchise felons on probation. In 46 states and the District of Columbia, convicted adults in prison are denied the right to vote. The racial disparities prevalent in the justice system (a subject that will be addressed later in this document) means that 1.4 million African-American men — 13 percent of the entire adult African-American male population — are denied the right to vote. In five states, including Florida, over one quarter of the adult black men is disenfranchised.
Efforts to ameliorate the effects of felony disenfranchisement laws are underway at the state and federal levels and would be bolstered by support from the Administration.
