Voter Rights

Basics
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 removed the last substantive obstacle to free and equal suffrage in the Unites States. And yet, scarcely a generation later, we are facing a new assault on the right to vote. In recent years, states have pushed (and in some cases passed) laws making voter registration more difficult, curtailing early voting, or requiring government-issued photo identification (or proof of citizenship) to register or vote. Such efforts are part of the broader backlash against recent immigration, and are clearly aimed at vote suppression.

Learn More
Demos is a leading voice on the issue of voting rights; their Democracy and Elections work includes research and advocacy on campaign finance, redistricting, and civic engagement as well. Their November 2011 testimony before the House Judiciary Committee offers a trenchant survey of recent state efforts. State laws and legal developments are traced by the voting rights programs at the Brennan Center for Justice, the National Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, the Progressive States Network, and the ACLU.

Recent Research Highlights

Added November 18, 2011 Source: Demos
Issue: Voter Rights
State: California

Added November 18, 2011 Source: Demos
Issue: Voter Rights
State: Hawaii

Added November 18, 2011 Source: Demos
Issue: Voter Rights
State: Maine

Added November 18, 2011 Source: Demos
Issue: Voter Rights
State: General Interest, National

Added May 2, 2012 Source: Policy Matters Ohio
Issue: Voter Rights

Added November 18, 2011 Source: Demos
Issue: Voter Rights
State: General Interest, National

Added November 28, 2011 Source: Pew Center on the States
Issue: Voter Rights
State: General Interest, National

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