FairVote operates from a simple premise: we must find ways to ensure that
all Americans have secure voting rights and every vote should matter. In
that spirit, we helped draft HJR 28, a proposal to establish a right to
vote in the U.S. Constitution and for years have called for universal
voter registration to provide full and accurate voter rolls. Two weighty
reform allies have issued important new reports calling for action: the
Advancement Project's In Pursuit of an Affirmative Right to Vote examines the need to amend the U.S. Constitution in order to
explicitly guarantee that all citizens have a fair, equal, and inclusive
voice in our democracy, and the Brennan Center has issued a potential
roadmap to universal voter registration.The Summer 2008 National Civic Review has an article co-authored by FairVote's Rob Richie and David Moon with former intern Usman Ahmed on how cities could boost the effort for a constitutional right to vote.
[Brennan Center's Universal Voter Registration: A Policy Summary]
[Advancement Project's In Pursuit of an Affirmative Right to Vote]
[FairVote on universal voter registration]
[FairVote on a Constitutional Right to Vote]
[Abstract of National Civic Review]
[More on Municipal Right to Vote strategy]
NEW [Commentary on a Right to Vote by FairVote]
NEW [Commentary on a Right to Vote by the Advancement Project]
The National Popular Vote plan has now passed 21 state legislative chambers – most recently both chambers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Meanwhile, civic support keeps growing, with delegates at the NAACP convention in July voting to endorse the proposal. With four states having adopted the plan, expect significant progress in 2009 , with greater urgency for legislatures to take action in order for enough states to pass it to establish a national popular vote based on voter equality in 2012.