QUARTERLY DISPATCH | September 2024 |
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VoteRiders is Making a Difference |
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♿ Q&A With New Disabled South's Lila Zucker: 'The ADA is the floor. Not the ceiling.' In honor of Disability Pride Month, VoteRiders spoke with New Disabled South’s Organizing Director Lila Zucker about Disability Pride, the importance of partnership, and what it means to navigate the voting process as a disabled American. Learn more about our partnership ➡️
🗳️ ‘People risked their lives to give us the freedom to vote,’ Says Wisconsin Voter
Dana, a 56-year-old Wisconsin resident, needed an updated ID to apply for housing and qualify for government assistance, but she couldn’t afford to pay the DMV fee. Luckily, Dana connected with VoteRiders’ Wisconsin Coordinator Jake, who made sure she got the ID she needed to secure support and stability and exercise her right to vote. Read Dana’s story ➡️
🪪 The Save ACT Is Dangerous For Democracy
The House of Representatives recently passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would severely threaten democracy by requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. These measures are unnecessary, given existing laws that already ensure that only eligible US citizens vote in federal elections. This legislation would disproportionately impact marginalized groups, potentially disenfranchising millions of eligible voters. The SAVE Act is part of a broader trend of restrictive voting laws rooted in a misleading narrative about voter fraud. While it is unlikely to become law this year, it signals possible future efforts to limit voting access at both the federal and state levels. Read VoteRiders’ CEO and Executive Director Lauren Kunis’ statement for more ➡️
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Here are just a few impactful ways our dedicated field team collaborated with our ever-growing community of partner organizations this quarter to ensure voters have the ID information and assistance they need to make their voices heard at the ballot box. 🇺🇸 National Voter Registration Day: At VoteRiders, we don’t want anything to keep folks from making their voices heard. On National Voter Registration Day, our team helped Americans register to vote, reminded them to double-check that they have the right ID to vote, and encouraged them to make a plan to cast their ballots on or before Election Day!
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🤠 Texas: Our Houston Organizer joined local leaders at Mi Familia en Acción’s Youth Advocacy Summit to discuss her voting rights journey and encourage young Houstonians to use the power of their vote to make a difference in their communities! |
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Voter ID Laws Across America |
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ARIZONA: SCOTUS Ruling on Citizenship Proof for New Voters Has an Outsized Impact for Native Voters /AZ Mirror
In August, the Supreme Court issued an emergency ruling that impacts the ID voters must show to register to vote in Arizona. Arizona has long required that voters provide documentary proof of their US citizenship to register to vote in local and state elections. However, until the SCOTUS ruling, voters who registered using the Arizona voter registration form, but did not provide proof of citizenship, could still be registered to vote in federal elections. Now, due to the Court’s recent ruling, those registrations are rejected. Currently, there are over 41,000 “federal only” registered voters in Arizona. VoterRiders is reaching out to all of those voters to offer help in getting the documentation they need to ensure they can vote in all races in November.
TEXAS: Transgender Texans Blocked from Changing Their Sex on Their Driver's License /The Texas Tribune
Transgender and non-binary Texans can no longer change the sex on their driver’s license or state ID to align with their gender identity — even if they present the state with a certified court order or an amended birth certificate verifying the change. Texas joins a growing list of states that no longer allow gender marker changes. VoteRiders is stepping in to help these voters who can no longer get a state-issued ID with their correct gender marker by assisting them in getting a federally-issued passport card, which allows them to select their correct gender marker.
OHIO: Citizens Caught in Ohio Noncitizen Voting Audit Say Latest Letter Offers Incomplete Information / Ohio Capital Journal
Ohio, like an increasing number of states nationwide, has been flagging properly registered US citizens based on outdated citizenship data. Many states have been performing matches between their voter registration rolls and DMV data, however, many newly naturalized citizens received a driver’s license or state ID card before becoming a citizen, leading to the DMV citizenship data being outdated. VoteRiders is encouraging all naturalized citizens to check their voter registration and update their ID with the DMV to ensure they aren’t incorrectly purged.
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| Jarell didn’t know when things would get easier, but he knew it started with getting a new ID — he hadn’t had one in forty years. At fifty-four years old, Jarell Blake was living on the streets of Tucson, Arizona, for the past two years while attending the University of Arizona College of Nursing. Although he wanted to stay in a shelter, he was told this wouldn’t be possible without an ID. Jarell couldn’t get a new identification because he had no valid birth certificate. His original copy was severely damaged from years of wear and tear and was no longer legible. He attempted to secure a new copy years ago, but soon after he got one, his bag was stolen — and the new copy of his birth certificate with it. |
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VoteRiders is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization registered in the US under EIN 45-5081831.
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