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Thursday, May 16, 2013

ACTION: You DON'T Have the "Right" to Vote - Change That!



EVERYONE AROUND THE COUNTRY SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF 
AND SIGN UP ON THIS ONE.

John Nichols:


Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a point of emphasizing during the Bush v. Gore arguments in December 2000 that there is no federal constitutional guarantee of a right to vote for president. He was right about that. Indeed, as the reform group FairVote reminds us: “Because there is no right to vote in the U.S. Constitution, individual states set their own electoral policies and procedures. This leads to confusing and sometimes contradictory policies regarding ballot design, polling hours, voting equipment, voter registration requirements, and ex-felon voting rights. As a result, our electoral system is divided into 50 states, more than 3,000 counties and approximately 13,000 voting districts, all separate and unequal.”

Mark Pocan wants to do something about that.

With Minnesota Congressmen Keith Ellison — who like Pocan is a former state legislator with a long history of engagement with voting rights issues — the Wisconsin Democrat on Monday unveiled an amendment to explicitly guarantee the right to vote in the Constitution.


Tell Pocan and Ellison that you support them.
Don’t let another wave of anti-voter legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council destroy your ability to vote. (ALEC didn't disband this committee - they admitted that they just moved it to another committee - it will be baaack folks!
  
Regardless of what state you are in - - - - - tell Mark Pocan and Kieth Ellison that you stand with them
  

Dear legislator,

I am writing you today to urge you to support the bill introduced by Congressmen Mark Pocan and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) calling for a constitutional amendment establishing the fundamental right to vote.

For years now, states across the country have slowly been chipping away at voting rights to advance their partisan agenda. It is time we say once and for all that the right to vote is sacred, and enshrine that right in the U.S. constitution.

Below is the proposed amendment language. Please stand up for the fundamental right to vote and support this proposed amendment.

“Every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.”

Sincerely,



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