Advancement Project National Office: ‘We Must Shed Light on Discriminatory Voting Practices Now’
National Civil Rights Organizations Launch WeVoteWeCount.org to Collect Stories of Voter Suppression, Drive Change Ahead of 2020 Presidential Election Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, Advancement Project National Office, in partnership the W.K. Kellogg Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative, launched WeVoteWeCount.org, a new online platform allowing voters to share their experiences facing interference at the polls, difficulties […]
Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill Undermining the Right to Vote
By Jeralyn Cave This week, Florida’s Senate Committee on Criminal Justice voted to advance SB 7086, a reckless bill that, if passed, would undermine the will of Floridians in restoring the voting rights of 1.4 million residents with prior felony convictions. The legislation represents a desperate attempt by lawmakers to maintain power by limiting the […]
H.R. 1- For the People Act – A Primer
Today, the House of Representative passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act, a piece of legislation that if signed into law, could radically transform the voting right landscape of the nation. Earlier this year, the communications team from Advancement Project National Office had a chance to sit down with Edward A. Hailes Jr. to […]
Missouri Must Allow Returning Citizens to Vote – Even Those on Probation and Parol
When Bruce Franks, a Ferguson organizer turned Missouri state representative, was sworn into office, one of his first objectives was to tackle the state’s unjust criminal justice system. The result? House Bill 508 (HB508), a bill that if passed, would restore voting rights to people with felony convictions upon their release from prison. Currently, 60,000 […]
Advancement Project Calls Out Georgia for Intentional Voter Suppression in 2018 Elections
On February 19, Advancement Project’s National Office traveled to Atlanta to testify at the Congressional Committee on House Administration’s field hearing on voting rights and elections. Long story short? Gilda Daniels, Advancement Project’s Litigation Director blasted state officials for a litany of issues that systemically and disproportionately disenfranchised communities of color and the poor. Daniels’ […]
Together, we did it. 1.4 million Returning Citizens have been re-enfranchised
We did it. But not without incident. But we did it! Our organizing, litigation, public education and get out the vote efforts resulted in an historic mid-term election. We are proud of you all for getting out to vote and gathering your friends and family to do the same in the name of racial justice. […]
What to Do if You Experience Intimidation at the Polls
The images that usually come to mind when people hear voter intimidation are flashbacks of vicious German Shepherds that have been trained to attack Black voters at the polls. Today, intimidation is far less violent, but the intent to interfere with ones right to vote remains. In response to growing concerns around voter intimidation, the […]
Building the ‘Country that has Yet to Exist,’ 1.4 Million Returning Citizens at a Time
By Jen Lai-Peterson One week ago, we here at Advancement Project’s national office, took pause and gathered to grieve and reflect collectively on the horrific events of last week in Pittsburgh and Louisville, KY. During the reflection, Judith Browne Dianis, our Executive Director, shared these words, spoken once by civil rights leader, Vincent Harding: “I […]
White Nationalist Terrorism vs. the Young Voter of Color
By Shu Ohno The DeploraBomber. The heinous neo-Nazi shooting of Jewish congregants in Pittsburgh. The racist hate crime shooting of two Black grocery shoppers in Kentucky. And now Trump’s declaration to take citizenship away from American babies born to immigrants. White Nationalism has crawled out of hiding and is today basking in daylight, perpetrating terrorism […]
Dream Defenders: Music Festival Reminds Young Floridians to Get Out, Vote
By Alexis McKenney What they’re most afraid of is young, Black, Brown and working-class people coming together because we know we ALL deserve better. – Rachel Gilmer, Co-director Dream Defenders Various Get Out the Vote efforts are happening around the country to ensure voters find themselves at the polls on November 6 – or before […]
‘No Surrender, No Retreat’: VOTE v. Louisiana Denied, But A Projected 40,000 Are Rejoining Democracy in March 2019
“No surrender, no retreat!” declared Checo Yancy, one of the plaintiffs in VOTE v. Louisiana and Director of Voters Organized to Educate, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, fired up as ever as a robust movement for voting rights led by formerly incarcerated people in Louisiana continues in full force even after the Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision this […]
Georgia is on Our Minds
By Andrew Hairston Georgia remains on my mind. Our Power & Democracy Co-program Director and Senior Attorney Donita Judge and I recently journeyed to the great state of Georgia ahead of the November 2018 election. Advancement Project’s Power & Democracy program is hitting the road to ensure that no election administration irregularities arise prior to […]
Protect Your Vote Webinars on FL, OH, PA, MI and NV Election Laws
Mid-term elections are nearly here and we want to make sure communities are prepared to go to the polls. Learn how you can protect the vote by joining Advancement Project’s national office for a series of webinars designed to help you understand how and where to register to vote, what to expect during the weeks […]
Five Years After Shelby
Five years after Shelby v. Holder ruling, we are resolved and committed to fight for the right to vote.
Race and Redistricting After Gill
While racial gerrymandering claims are legally distinct and separate from partisan gerrymandering claims, the tactics at issue in all of these cases produce the same practical effect: diminishing the political power of our communities.
Quoting Advancement Project on Husted Case, Sotomayor Decries Racial Disparities
In a disappointing 5-4 decision today, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Ohio Secretary of State in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute. The majority opinion affirms Ohio’s Supplemental Process, which allows the state to remove voters from its rolls for simply not voting. This opinion follows a recent spate of […]
Victory! Rights-restoration bill passes Louisiana State Senate
Against all odds, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) got their rights-restoration bill passed in the Louisiana State Senate.
BREAKING — Victory for the Right to Vote in Louisiana: HB 265 passes the state house
Today, after years of work and an uphill battle for rights restoration, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) reached a milestone: The rights-restoration bill they championed, HB 265, has passed the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Missouri Keeps Making it Harder to Vote. So We Sued.
Missouri has a long history history of voter suppression and erasing the political clout of people of color
Dolfinette Martin: a Leader of the Here and Now
The visibility of Black women and their political power has recently made it into the mainstream discourse as if it were a new phenomenon. It’s a complex development that is both insulting, yet long overdue in recognition. On the other hand, Black women have always relished in the strength of their communities, and families with […]
TAKE ACTION ON VOTING RIGHTS BILLS: HB 265 & HB 417
Take action: Push the Louisiana legislature to act now for voting rights
The Trump Administration’s Voter Suppression Efforts Call for Secret Service Presence in Polling Places
As news breaks that the Russian meddling investigation will come to a halt, Trump wastes no time in resuming his voter suppression policy efforts. If a provision in a pending Homeland Security Reauthorization bill is kept in the final legislation, Trump will have expanded executive power over Federal elections. The provision, Section 4012 of HR […]
Oral Arguments Week: Supporting the Right to Vote in Louisiana
More than 70,000 people in Louisiana are being deprived of their right to vote. As our team told a judge panel, “they should be voting. They should be voting today.”
Why a National Right to Vote is Necessary: Another Example
The lack of an affirmative right to vote in the U.S. Constitution has lead to disparities and legal vacuums that reduce access to the polls, especially for communities of color. Take a recent voting rights case in Pennsylvania, where the state’s supreme court struck down the legislature’s redistricting map for violating the state’s constitutional right […]
Big News in Florida. Congrats, FRRC!
You may have heard the news. Our friends and partners at Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) got one step closer to getting rights restored for people with past felony convictions!
The Grassroots Fight for the Right to Vote
The attack on the right to vote is as vigorous as it has been in generations – at stake is our very voice, and indeed, our dignity.