California
oting Rights
Project
(DE)VOLUTION OF
VOTING RIGHTS
1870
15th Amendment prohibits
government from denying a
citizen the right to vote
based on race, color or
“previous condition of
servitude”.
1940
Jim Crow laws mean only
3% of eligible African
Americans are registered.
1964
Poll taxes are outlawed by
the 24th Amendment.
1965
Voting Rights Act signed into
law; extended in 1970, 1975,
1982, and 2006.
2008 -
2012
During this 4-year period,
seventeen states enact 35
separate restrictions on
voting.
2012
In Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, the Supreme Court upholds an Indiana law requiring voters to present government-issued photo IDs in order to vote.
2013
The Supreme Court rules in
Shelby County v. Holder, that
Section 4 of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 is
unconstitutional.
Since the beginning of this
year, 75 restrictive bills have
been introduced in 30 states.
The ACLU of California’s voting rights work
is backed in significant part by
Leading the Fight Against
Disenfranchisement in California
Many mistakenly believe that California is a safe haven for voting rights.
Yet California’s voter registration rate ranks 45th in the nation. Six
million eligible Californians are not registered to vote.
Just as troubling, California’s election performance index ranks second worst in the
nation, with fewer than half the state’s eligible voters going to the polls on Election
Day. Consequently, our elected officials do not reflect the demographics of the most
diverse state in the country.
Why is this? A combination of factors: Many Californians do not have easy access
to register, engage, and vote; many others feel their vote will not matter. And,
regrettably, politicians who are elected in this system have little incentive to improve
the status quo.
The ACLU of California is working to advance democratic participation in three
important ways:
• Reducing barriers to voter registration and participation through
statewide election reform.
• Enforcing important provisions of the Voting Rights Act to
guarantee that every voter is afforded an equal opportunity to
participate in our elections.
• Building an educated, participatory grassroots, especially among
youth, the formerly incarcerated, and communities of color.
FIRST IN THE NATION: California’s Health Benefit
Exchange Designated as Voter Registration Agency
The ACLU of California, along with national partners
Demos and Project Vote, persuaded California to
designate its Health Benefit Exchange as a voter
registration agency under federal law. The Exchange,
responsible for implementing the Affordable Care Act,
will now be the first Exchange in the country to offer
voter registration services to the millions of consumers
applying for health care coverage and will serve as a
model for the rest of the nation.
Our Facebook meme announcing the HBEX news.
A Critical Voice for Statewide Election Reform
California’s antiquated registration and election systems are among the most
significant barriers to voter participation in our state.
California ranks 48th out of the 50 states and
the District of Columbia in an extensive study
measuring election performance, according to a
Pew Center on the States report released in early
2013. Notable indicators include the absence of a
statewide voter database, a high rate of reported
voting problems from people with disabilities, a
high rate of unreturned military and overseas
ballots, the highest rate of rejected absentee
ballots, the highest rate of provisional ballots cast,
and a high rate of nonvoting due to registration or
absentee ballot problems.
The ACLU is a leader in the movement for
statewide election reform that reduces barriers
to voter registration and participation:
The ACLU fought back a voter identification
provision in proposed “same day registration”
legislation, and then lobbied for the revised bill,
which was signed into law in August 2012.
In 2011, we launched a pilot project in San
Diego County to ensure that public assistance
agencies were in compliance with the
National Voter Registration Act and offering
voter registration to all applicants for public
assistance. With the generous support of the
James Irvine Foundation we are expanding the
project throughout Southern California.
We sponsored legislation to amplify California’s
compliance with the National Voter Registration
Act by mandating best practices for voter
registration at public assistance agencies
throughout the state and requiring the state’s
new Health Benefit Exchange to offer online
voter registration to all applicants. The bill (SB
35, Padilla) was signed into law by the Governor
in August 2012.
We continue to advocate for accessible
implementation of California’s new online
voter registration tool so that it reaches all
eligible voters, including sponsoring legislation
requiring the Secretary of State to translate
online registration into all nine languages that
Section 203 of the Federal Voting Rights Act
mandates.
We are proud members of the Future of
California Elections, a statewide collaboration
of the James Irvine Foundation to advance
California’s elections, working with elections
officials, civil rights groups and election
reform advocates to shape and implement
a vision of California elections that expands
the electorate and ensures participation
by previously underrepresented and
marginalized groups.
Defender of State &
Federal Voting Rights Laws
Despite the fact that California’s
electorate is the most diverse in the
nation, its elected officials do not yet
reflect this rich diversity. The ACLU of
California continues the fight to ensure
that every voter is afforded an equal
opportunity to participate fully in our
elections:
•
In 2012, we filed a lawsuit alleging
Anaheim’s election system violates
the California Voting Rights Act
because it dilutes the voting power of
the Latino community and deprives
them of a voice in local government.
•
In 2012, we successfully advocated,
under Section 203 of the Federal
Voting Rights Act, for the
translation of the Imperial County
elections website into Spanish,
making bilingual voting information
available to residents of the
county with the highest number of
limited English proficient Spanish
speakers in the state.
•
In 2012, we successfully advocated
for greater transparency and
inclusion of the community in
the Escondido Union School
Board’s transition from at-large
to by-trustee-area elections and
conducted a series of community
workshops for parents in this
majority-Latino city in San Diego
County, educating them about the
Voting Rights Act and empowering
them to be active participants in
the School Board’s decisions on
trustee-area boundaries.
•
In 2011, we successfully advocated
for the first ever majority-minority
district for the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors as required by
the Federal Voting Rights Act.
Behind Bars: Your Right To Vote In California
A December 2011 California Secretary of State ruling disenfranchised people
sentenced under the state’s newly enacted Criminal Justice Realignment Act. This
ruling is inconsistent with state law, which only suspends voting rights for people
in state prison or on parole. The ACLU is fighting for the reinstatement of voting
rights for the more than 80,000 people who are presently serving a low-level
felony sentence in county jail or on county
supervision.
Given the confusion in the law and the ongoing
attacks against people with a criminal history,
hundreds of thousands of eligible voters
mistakenly believe they cannot vote with a
felony conviction. The ACLU provides voter
education materials to jails, elections officials
and community groups across the state through
its Every Vote Counts campaign.
Updated June 2013
ACLU of California
For more information, contact Lori Shellenberger, Project Director 619.398.4494 [email protected]
ACLU of Northern California s ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties s ACLU of Southern California
www.aclunc.org
www.aclusandiego.org
www.aclu-sc.org