activists in the area of voting rights. It irritates me to death that the more the DNC tries to do, the more they get critized for not doing anything. So why should they bother? This is in regard to the voting protections, but the same thing goes in every category.
None of our very few resources on the left presents what is going on, they just don't cover it. And the ones who are now mostly related to the same old ways, such as TNR for example...don't say much at all.
No one wants to give money, yet they expect the DNC to pull it out of their who know what and provide all 50 states with election protection in the snap of a finger. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=3176Here's the press release.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=70229This is tiring. Sometimes it is baby steps unless all of us want to step and fund it. i don't see a rush.
I say good for the DNC for doing what they can with the money they have, while having Rahm nipping at their heels, having to support state level candidates and fund party resources. One of Dean's goals is to take over the state houses so the other side won't have anymore Blackwells and Harrises in charge of elections in crucial states.
But nothing is ever enough.
Edit to add main provisions:
In addition to the national voter protection hotline, the DNC's voter protection strategy for 2006 includes:
-- COORDINATING NATIONAL ELECTION PROTECTION STRATEGY: At the DNC's Summer Meeting in Chicago, the DNC Voting Rights Institute and the National Lawyers Council will meet with the leadership of every state party to lay out their step by step plans for protecting voters at the polls at every level;
-- PROVIDING ELECTION PROTECTION STAFF: The DNC will place election protection staff in 15 key states and provide training and step-by-step Election Protection manuals to other states.
-- RECRUITING LEGAL ASSISTANCE ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY: The National Lawyers Council is recruiting 7,500 pro-bono lawyers and law students to support the DNC's election protection program. These lawyers will be placed in precincts to augment voter protection efforts at every level-including not just statewide office and Congressional races, but local and county races as well. These offices from state representatives to county sheriffs and judges will have a profound impact on the lives of real citizens throughout the year.
-- ADVANCING LEGISLATION FOR VERIFIED VOTING: The DNC will continue working with Congressional leaders, grassroots activists and state parties to build support for federal legislation to mandate a verified voting paper trail for voting machines that has been proven as the best method of securing votes.
-- FILING LITIGATION TO BLOCK LEGISLATION: The DNC will work with state parties to file litigation to prevent imposition of egregious photo ID and other Republican sponsored legislation that disenfranchise voters. This follows the successful partnership the DNC has undertaken with state parties pursuing legal challenges to, for example, Indiana's voter ID law and to the effort to investigate the criminal phone-jamming scheme in New Hampshire.
-- MONITORING STATE LEGISLATION: The National Lawyers Council and the Voting Rights Institute will continue to meet with top election law attorneys and monitor state legislative initiatives that have the potential to dilute the voting rights of key constituency voters. They are also updating manuals from the last election cycle to reflect new changes in election laws across the country.
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