We've rounded up the latest news on voter ID laws and VoteRiders' major initiatives, challenges, and victories. Thanks for being so supportive of our work — and American democracy!
–Team VoteRiders
VoteRiders is Making a Difference
🤝 VoteRiders Reached Upwards of 5.3 Million Voters With ID Info & Free Help Offers in 2023 [[link removed]]
In response to confusing, complicated, and costly restrictions to the ballot box, VoteRiders is fighting back with free, direct voter ID help to all voters. And our impact this year has been tremendous. The VoteRiders team — including our staff [[link removed]] in eight states, partner organizations [[link removed]] , volunteers [[link removed]] , donors [[link removed]] , and supporters — helped us reach 5.3 MILLION voters and counting in 2023 alone . Learn more ➡️ [[link removed]]
💪 Empowering Voters Ahead of November Elections [[link removed]]
At VoteRiders, we don’t believe in “off years” — every election decides important issues and leaders for local communities . That’s why in order to have the greatest possible impact in pivotal elections like the 2024 presidential race, we work year-round and in every single year with voters who don’t yet have the ID they need to make their voices heard.
On Nov. 7, 2023, many critical state and local elections took place across the country, and many of them were in states with voter ID laws. To give our audience a better understanding of what was at stake — and how VoteRiders is making a difference — we asked some of our state-based team members to highlight key races and ballot initiatives to look out for this election season. Learn more ➡️ [[link removed]]
VoteRiders on the Ground
Here are just a few of some of the impactful ways our dedicated outreach team collaborated with our ever-growing community of partner organizations this quarter to make sure voters have the ID information and assistance they need to make their voices heard.
🤠 TEXAS: [[link removed]] Ahead of Houston elections in November and a runoff in December, we texted over 250,000 young voters of color with just-in-time ID reminders and free help offers. VoteRiders’ Texas team also launched their very own Texas-based Instagram account [[link removed]] to share up-to-date information on what Texans need to vote, how to receive free voter ID support from VoteRiders, and how audiences can help us protect the freedom to vote.
[link removed] [[link removed]]
🍑 GEORGIA: [[link removed]] At the Georgia Student Voting Summit hosted by our friends at Campus Vote Project, our Georgia Voter ID Coalition Coordinator presented the disproportionate impact voter ID laws have on students, young people, and marginalized communities.
[link removed] [[link removed]]
🏳️🌈 FLORIDA: [[link removed]] VoteRiders joined Impulse Group Orlando to celebrate Orlando Pride and spread the word about how VoteRiders can help trans and nonbinary folks vote with pride.
[link removed] [[link removed]]
VoteRiders in the News
*Forbes: Young People Are Fighting Back Against Voter ID Restrictions [[link removed]]
*Newsweek : Election Warning Issued Over Voter ID [[link removed]]
*Augusta Free Press : 'Stakes are too high to sit out': VoteRiders works to remove barriers to voting [[link removed]]
Voter ID Laws Across America
ARIZONA: Two new Arizona laws would create regular checks on voter citizenship. Will a judge let them stand? [[link removed]] / AZ Mirror
A federal trial is currently underway to decide whether to allow two new Arizona laws to go into effect. These laws would require election officials to investigate the citizenship status of all voters who haven’t yet provided ID to confirm their US citizenship and to regularly check the voter rolls for noncitizens.
OHIO: Nearly a third of provisional ballots in Ohio's August special election were tossed for lack of ID [[link removed]] / The Statehouse News Bureau
Due to the new strict photo ID law provisional ballot rates in Ohio have skyrocketed and of all rejected provisional ballots nearly a third were from voters who lacked accepted ID. Voters having expired IDs made up the majority of them.
NEBRASKA: What students should know about Nebraska’s new voter ID law [[link removed]] [[link removed]] / Daily Nebraskan
A new photo ID law will go into effect in Nebraska for the first time in 2024. At least 3% of Nebraskans are believed to not have an ID that will be accepted for voting.
IDAHO: New state laws affect what documents Idaho voters can use to register [[link removed]] / KREM
As of July 2023, voters in Idaho must now show an accepted ID to prove their identity and Idaho residency at the time of registration. If a voter’s residence address does not match the record on their driver’s license, their voter registration application will not be complete until this requirement is satisfied.
NATIONAL: Voter ID Laws Are Disenfranchising Transgender and Nonbinary People as Anti-Trans Legislation Reaches Record Levels [[link removed]] [[link removed]] / The Good Men Project
Out of the roughly 414,000 voting-eligible transgender Americans living in states with both a voter ID law and mostly in-person voting, nearly half do not have an ID that matches both their name and gender.
Voter Story
In one fell swoop, fifty-one-year-old Fandrea Nazir lost her Social Security card and birth certificate — as well as the birth certificates of her two daughters and two grandchildren — when the folder in which they were stored was mistakenly thrown away by someone at a Houston shelter where Fandrea and her family were temporarily living.
She knew she was in trouble. Fandrea needed a job, but with an expired driver’s license, no birth certificate, and no Social Security card, most employers would not hire her.
Luckily, Fandrea learned about VoteRiders at Career & Resources Recovery (CRR), a VoteRiders partner organization that helps people reach financial stability through free wellness, education, workforce development, and affordable housing resources. When Fandrea explained to a CRR rep that she was struggling to find a job due to her expired identification and lack of underlying documents, they told her to come back next week and someone from VoteRiders would be there to help. The following week, Fandrea returned, and VoteRiders’ Houston Regional Coordinator, Jessica Hulett, assured her that she would help get her the license and underlying documents she needed.
Read Fandrea’s story ➡️ [[link removed]]
DONATE [[link removed]]
Follow @VoteRiders
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
VoteRiders is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization registered in the US under EIN 45-5081831.
VoteRiders
171 Pier Avenue #313
Santa Monica, CA 90405
United States
Was this message forwarded to you? Sign up to receive VoteRiders updates [[link removed]] . Make a donation to VoteRiders [[link removed]] directly or through CFC #56746. Consider a planned gift to VoteRiders and join the John Lewis Legacy Circle or explore other ways to give [[link removed]]. If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe: [link removed] .