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We call on Congress to pass H.J. Res. 28, a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to add a right to vote.
Most Americans believe that voting is a fundamental, inalienable right of American citizenship. But this is not true.
Problems with our electoral process are founded on a simple fact: there is no affirmative right to vote in the Constitution. The Constitution only protects against overt discrimination based on race (15th amendment); sex (19th amendment); and age (26th amendment). The states regulate voting policies and procedures, and hold the exclusive authority to select presidential electors. In other words, there are at least fifty separate sets of law handling voting. Since counties and, in the case of some states, townships run elections, there are effectively more than 10,000 separate voting systems in America – often underfunded and unaccountable for their performances. It is not hard to imagine that voting irregularities occur. As demonstrated by the presidential election in 2000, many states have failed to establish voting policies that ensure fair, efficient and accurate elections.
In every election, whether at the national or state level tens of thousands of eager, registered voters are wrongly denied the ability to vote or their votes simply go uncounted. In fact, according to a year 2000 study by the joint Caltech and MIT Voting Technology Project between 4-6 million votes never counted in the last presidential election due to poor ballot design, registration difficulties and tactical suppression of voters all on the state level. This is both unacceptable and undemocratic.
Furthermore, some states legally disenfranchise adult citizens who would be able to vote in most states. Close to five million American citizens today cannot vote due to a felony conviction. Every single one of those people could vote if they lived in one of the states that did not choose to take their voting rights away. The presidential commission headed by Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, led by both prominent Democrats and Republicans, called for states to change this policy. They realized that the right to vote is just that: a right, not a privilege.
Here is what H.J. Res. 28 would do to ensure that the ability to vote should be a right for all not a privilege for the few.
1. H.J. Res. 28 would require Congress to protect the individual right to vote by developing national minimum standards that all states must follow and be encouraged to improve upon to ensure that every registered voter vote is counted.
2. H.J. Res. 28 would guarantee that all American citizens 18 and over have an individual right to vote. This would effectively eliminate the targeted voter disenfranchisement that presently occurs.
3. H.J. Res. 28 would leave the electoral college intact,, but would prevent a state legislature from overriding the popular vote in their states..
To save our democracy, we must pass a right to vote amendment.
This petition will be delivered to each member of the House of Representatives on January 20, 2004 (the first day of the 109th Congress). |
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Congressman Jesse Jacison Jr. is the chief sponsor of this bill. You can read more about him at www.house.gov/jackson
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The Center For Voting and democracy www.fairvote.org/righttovote is a non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to electoral reforms that will enhance the quality of elections and improve the representative nature of our elected officials. |
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