Secretaries of State Gathered for National Conference Urged to Support Pro-Voter Election Reforms

Secretaries of State Gathered for National Conference Urged to Support Pro-Voter Election Reforms; National Election Reform Group Highlights Recent Policy Changes Championed in Iowa, Montana, Other States
NEW YORK, July 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- Today, Miles Rapoport, President of Demos and former Secretary of the State of Connecticut, issued the following statement applauding Secretaries of State who have supported reforms that have lowered barriers to electoral participation. Rapoport urges all attendees at the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, this weekend to support similar reforms.
"Around the country, Secretaries of State from both parties are supporting reforms that will not only streamline the administration of elections, but will also make them fairer and more accessible for all eligible voters."
Rapoport cited several examples of the kinds of reforms that have been supported:
"Election Day Registration (EDR) is a crucial policy that has allowed the six states that employ it to have an average voter turnout of 73.6 percent - more than 13 points higher than the average for non-EDR states. In Montana this year, Secretary Brad Johnson championed a law that will allow voters to register on Election Day, which will take effect in 2006. In addition, several other Secretaries of State, including Deb Markowitz of Vermont, Chet Culver of Iowa and Dean Heller of Nevada continue to support EDR as a key election reform goal."
"The effective implementation of laws restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions is an essential element of an open and fair democratic process. In Pennsylvania, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes distributed a bilingual brochure detailing voting rights for people convicted or detained by the criminal court system, with the assistance of the Department of Corrections. Other Secretaries of State, including New Mexico's Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron, have been instrumental in improving notification and registration procedures for state residents with felony convictions."
"Georgia’s Secretary of State Cathy Cox took a courageous stand in opposing one of the most damaging election policy trends in the United States: photo voter ID requirements. Cox, armed with well-informed research showing that photo voter ID would disfranchise thousands of disabled, elderly and minority voters in her state, held firm against overly stringent identification requirements."
"For the past eleven years, many states have ignored the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requirement that public assistance agencies offer new enrollees the opportunity to register to vote. Chet Culver in Iowa and Pedro Cortes in Pennsylvania have taken a lead on improving the implementation of the law. Early results of their efforts show a large increase in agency-based registration, undoubtedly yielding greater participation among lower-income state residents."
"Secretaries of State can support cutting edge reforms which, in addition to improving the efficiency and accuracy of elections, also take major steps toward opening the electoral process for the fullest possible participation. I applaud all of those Secretaries of State that are taking this responsibility seriously."
Secretaries of State attending the NASS conference will be presented with a "best practices" policy guide prepared by the National Network on State Election Reform (The Network), a coalition of pro-voter organizations that includes the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Common Cause, Demos, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (LCCR), the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI), People for the American Way (PFAW), Project Vote, and many others
Demos is a national, nonpartisan public policy organization based in New York and a founding member of the Right to Vote Campaign to end felon disfranchisement.
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CONTACT: Timothy Rusch, 917-399-0236, trusch@demos.org
NOTE TO EDITORS: To schedule an interview or background briefing with Miles Rapoport, President, or Steven Carbo, Director of the Democracy Program, please contact Timothy Rusch.
ON THE WEB: For more information, visit www.demos.org.
Media Contact: Timothy Rusch, 917-399-0236, trusch@demos.org