civic engagement

A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California argues that bias among state legislators against Latino voters is an important factor in the passage of tough voter ID laws across the country. The laws ostensibly are designed to prevent voter fraud, but the researchers said there’s almost no evidence that such fraud is a problem in U.S. elections

The San Diego City Council has passed a resolution urging Congress to begin the process of amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn the controversial Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC. The resolution, introduced on December 4 by Councilmember Marti Emerald, was adopted unanimously.

It's no secret that an organized, well-coordinated effort to make it harder to vote threatened to disenfranchise up to five million Americans on Tuesday.
But it turns out that voting rights advocates were organized and well-coordinated, too.

Those kinds of bullies are at work in Latino and African-American neighborhoods in places like Milwaukee and Cleveland this month. They’ve posted billboards calculated to discourage people from voting, warning that anyone involved in voter fraud can be sent to prison and hit with a hefty fine. The messages carry no signature and the billboard owner says the “family foundation” that placed them insisted on anonymity.