Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) walk in the U.S. Capitol hallway on November 16, 2021. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Posted in Filibuster Voting rights

Sinema digs in on Filibuster defense amid GOP’s assault on voting rights

Republicans and a pair of Senate Democrats are “using the filibuster to destroy and undermine the life of this democracy and the daily lives of people,” warned Rev. Dr. William Barber II. by Jake Johnson, Common…

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Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, is arrested by U.S. Capitol Police after taking part in a non-violent protest in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 2021. (Photo: Poor People's Campaign/Twitter)
Posted in News Poor Peoples Campaign Voting rights

Nonviolent protest over voting rights ends with arrests in DC

‘We’re Not Going Away!’ “We’re saying across this country, it’s time for people… to march on these Senate offices,” declared Rev. William Barber. by Jake Johnson, Staff Writer Wednesday, June 23, 2021 Activists with the national…

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Posted in Filibuster Politics Voting rights

Sinema defends filibuster on same day it’s used to stall voting rights

In a prepared statement after the bill was blocked Tuesday, Sinema said she was “proud to support the For the People Act because it restores safeguards that protect every American’s right to vote, reduces the influence…

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) arrives for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee markup in the Dirksen Building on Wednesday on June 16, 2021. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Posted in Arizona Filibuster Voting rights

Sinema op-ed defending Senate filibuster ‘delusional’

Rep. Mondaire Jones said Sinema is effectively arguing that “we should let Republicans destroy democracy now because at some indeterminate time in the future they may try again.” by Jake Johnson, Staff Writer Tuesday, June 22,…

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Posted in Columns Voting rights Wade Rathke

Restoring voting rights to former felons

by Wade Rathke March 17, 2021 New Orleans      In these times when a number of states are trying to curtail voting rights for their citizens, the governor of Virginia made some news by speeding…

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Posted in Democracy News Voting rights

Indivisible launches For The People Project to ‘unrig our democracy and make it work for all’

“We’re holding nothing back as we work to make D.C. the 51st state, protect the rights of voters, and root out corruption in our government.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Wednesday, March 3, 2021   In…

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Rathke: “The Organizer” Comes to Ole Miss

Oxford   Having breakfast at the University of Memphis before leaving for Oxford, Mississippi, home of the University of Mississippi, we were in a good mood after the Hooks Institute event the previous evening.  We laughed…

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Rathke: College Student GOTV Could be Key in Fight against Suppression

New Orleans      The persistent political canard has been that, sure, you can register young people, but most of them are not going to vote.  The Trump turmoil and the urgency of climate change is overturning…

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Rathke: Faking the Voter Strategy

New Orleans      Democracy is under assault everywhere it seems, and, no, I’m not just taking about the White House. Russia is busy interfering with elections in, are you ready for this, Madagascar.  How did this…

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Posted in Columns Voter suppression Voting rights Wade Rathke

Database voter suppression strategy

by Wade Rathke New Orleans We all know it’s bad, and then we find out that it’s even worse than we imagined. Sharing the Voter Purge Project’s recently released report on consistent errors in the voter…

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Posted in Columns Community organizing Democracy Minority Voters Politics Voter Purge Project Voter registration Voter suppression Voting rights Wade Rathke

Field testing voter purges and “drops”

Columbus        As the Voter Purge Project moves forward, we are now analyzing the voter files on more than a dozen states on our way to double that number in coming weeks, many of them include the…

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Posted in National News Off the wire Politics Voter registration Voter suppression Voting rights

Georgia Governor Kemp loses vote purge suit brought by reporter Palast

Nicole Powers for The Palast Investigative Fund February 9 Atlanta   In an extraordinary and unexpected move, Federal Judge Eleanor Ross has declared Gov. Brian Kemp the loser in a lawsuit brought by investigative journalist Greg Palast…

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Posted in Campaign finance Common Dreams Democracy National News Politics Voter registration Voter suppression Voting rights

“It’s always been Republicans suppressing votes,” Trump advisor says party will get even more aggressive in 2020

“It’s clear there’s no law Donald Trump and his right-wing machine won’t bend, break, or ignore to try to win the presidency.” by Eoin Higgins, staff writer Common Dreams Reporting on Friday shows a top advisor…

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In 1976, after most Freedom Summer workers had long moved on, Blackwell became the first black female mayor in the state, a post she held for more than 20 years.
Posted in Columns Community organizing economic justice National Off the wire People Social Justice Voter registration Voter suppression Voting rights Wade Rathke

Unita Blackwell’s life and work is a beacon for us all

New Orleans       At the end of every year, there’s a section in the New York Times about the “lives they lived” that looks at people large and small that died during the past year.  Unita…

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Posted in Campaign finance Democracy Elections Off the wire Politics Race for the White House 2020 Voter suppression Voting rights

Don’t let your vote get stolen – 5 essential reads about disinformation in 2020

Who’s manipulating what you know before you vote? AntonSokolov/Shutterstock.com Jeff Inglis, The Conversation As the 2020 election season heats up, there will be a massive number of people competing for your vote. Only some of them…

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Posted in Democracy News Politics Voter registration Voter suppression Voting rights

Kansas abandons technology trumpeted by Kris Kobach, Trump’s onetime Voter Fraud Czar

A system supposedly meant to root out voter fraud was beset by security and accuracy issues. by Jessica Huseman, Pro-Publica The Kansas Secretary of State’s office has announced it will indefinitely suspend the use of controversial…

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