People For the American Way seeks support for election
reform, with a clergy letter to Congress [8-26-02]
================================================================ FAITH
ACTION NETWORK
-- A project of People For the American Way --
Alert
Date: August 21, 2002
Circulate Until: September 6, 2002
______________________________________
URGENT
ACTION NEEDED ON ELECTION REFORM!
________________________________________________________________
Dear Friends and Activists,
One of the first pieces of legislation that Congress will address
after the Labor Day recess will be election reform. Pending legislation
is currently being debated in the House- Senate Conference Committee
with a final vote likely by the end of September. I need not remind you
of the grave injustices and massive voter disenfranchisement, especially
to people of color, that occurred in the 2000 elections.
Meaningful election reform that secures the rights of every voter and
that is consistent with the Voting Rights Act is desperately needed. To
ensure that Congress will move this legislation forward, your religious
voice is urgently needed. Below you will find a sign-on letter being
distributed to people of faith all across the country that addresses
several major issues in the legislation.
I hope you will take the few minutes necessary to read it and then
sign your name. Simply copy the letter, add your name and pertinent
information, then email it back to me at Sbaines@pfaw.org no
later than Friday, August 30.
I know that
you are asked to sign many letters and speak for many issues; however,
as people of faith, we must speak for those who have been systematically
oppressed and silenced. If we allow these injustices to go unchallenged,
then we have betrayed the precious dreams of freedom and equality of so
many s/heroes in the civil rights movement. Please let your voice be
heard.
Fondly,
Rev. Steven
Baines
Senior
Organizer for Religious Affairs
E-mail:
Sbaines@pfaw.org
________________________________________________________________
*** CLERGY
SIGN-ON LETTER ON ELECTION REFORM ***
Dear
Senator/Representative:
As justice
seeking people of faith and activists in our communities, we are writing
to encourage you to pass meaningful election reform legislation that is
consistent with the intent of the Voting Rights Act to encourage the
right to vote. The Hebrew and Christian Scriptures repeatedly ask
believers to take care of those in need and to champion for those who
are oppressed and disenfranchised.
As you know,
the 2000 elections reaped millions of disenfranchised voters across
America. We hope that we can count on your leadership to ensure that
this grave injustice never happens again. African-Americans and people
of color were disproportionately affected in the 2000 Presidential
election as a result of many obstacles to voting such as improper
purging, faulty equipment, untrained poll workers, misinformation - just
to name a few.
As a result,
we are particularly concerned about some of the provisions being
considered by the House-Senate Conference Committee on election reform
legislation. While we support the $3.5 billion provided for election
reform in the Senate bill, strong national standards and enforcement of
these standards by the Department of Justice, we are primarily concerned
with three provisions in the Senate bill.
As ministers
of predominately African-American churches, we fear that our efforts to
encourage our parishioners to participate in election will be thwarted
with the inclusion of certain provisions that will disproportionately
affect members of our congregations. These provisions include the
discriminatory photo ID requirements, dangerous uses of individuals'
private Social Security Numbers for voter registration and matching, and
the so- called "safe harbor" provision, which would delay the
enforcement of national minimal standards for almost a decade.
Provisions
requiring the use of photo-IDs for first-time voters registering by mail
are extremely problematic. As activists in our communities, we know that
historically such requirements have not been uniformly applied and have,
in fact, been used as a method to turn away voters based on their race
and ethnicity. Despite what a few may say, it is not the case that
everyone has a photo-ID. Most of those affected by this provision
include African Americans, Latinos and other racial minorities who are
far less likely to have the types of identification currently
contemplated by this legislation, or one may not realize they need to
bring this identification to the polls on election day. Thus, requiring
this type of identification at the polling place would inevitably create
barriers and hurdles in the election process.
Additionally,
provisions requiring the use of Social Security numbers will also have a
discriminatory impact upon our communities. Not only do these provisions
encourage identity theft, but even the Social Security Administration
warns against the use of their database for verification purposes
because it is incomplete.
Finally,
considering the tragic circumstances surrounding the 2000 elections, we
urge you to not delay the enforcement of the national minimum standards
any longer. Our communities should not have to wait to have their voting
rights protected. We are privileged to live in a country where justice
and freedom are cherished values. However, genuine justice cannot be
achieved when the votes of those in economically oppressed communities
are discarded and barriers are erected to keep people away from the
polls.
Knowing that
minorities were disproportionately disenfranchised in 2000, we hope that
you will not hesitate to fix these provisions so that election reform
will increase voter participation and ensure that no eligible voter will
be turned away in the next election.
Name
_______________________________________
Title
______________________________________
Religious
Affiliation ______________________________________
Address
____________________________________________________
City
________________________ State _________ Zip __________
Email
______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
*** ABOUT
THE FAITH ACTION NETWORK ***
People For
the American Way's Faith Action Network (FAN) is a national network of
clergy and people of faith seeking to amplify the voice of religious
progressives in this country. The FAN not only educates faith-based
activists and leaders on central PFAW issues, but also provides
opportunities to join our other 500,000 members and activists for direct
action on the local, state and federal level. By providing opportunities
for action on a regular basis, PFAW will ensure that the progressive
faith voice continues to be raised as important public policy is
crafted.
________________________________________________________________
*** FEEDBACK
***
Please
send comments and suggestions on this alert to webmaster@pfaw.org.
________________________________________________________________
ABOUT PEOPLE
FOR THE AMERICAN WAY / SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
People For
the American Way organizes and mobilizes Americans to fight for
fairness, justice, civil rights and the freedoms guaranteed by the
Constitution. PFAW monitors the Religious Right at the local, state and
national levels, lobbies for progressive legislation, and helps build
communities of activists.
To
join our email Activist Network, please go to: http://www.pfaw.org/activist/
To
remove yourself from the Activist Network, please go to: http://www.pfaw.org/activist/unsubscribe.asp
______________________________________________________________
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================================================================
People
For the American Way 2000 M Street, NW | Suite 400 | Washington, DC
20036 http://www.pfaw.org/ |
mailto:pfaw@pfaw.org
1-800-326-PFAW |
202/467-4999
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