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Join us for the PSN 2012 Convention focusing on combating voter suppression, corporate personhood, & policies for economic security. Learn about effective strategies and common objections to reform. Contact Cristina Francisco-McGuire for more information.
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Expanding the Franchise 2012 YEO Network National Convening Voter Suppression, Corporate Personhood and Equality Issues for State Legislative OfficialsJune 23, 2012
National Think Tanks State Legislatures Congress State-Based Group GrassrootsGroups StateMedias American Public About the Progressive States Network • Establish a multi-issue progressive narrative • Build a national network • Connect legislators with best practices and sound research • Act as a source of information • Move policy
PSN 2012 Blueprint for Economic Security Convert individual state policy fights into national campaigns that reflect many of the top concerns of American families • Create, Grow, and Save Jobs • Rebuild Prosperity in State Economies • Protect Families from Cuts and Attacks • Revitalize the Middle Class
Three policies, in particular • Anti-Deceptive Practices • Election Day Registration • 16- and 17-year-old voter preregistration
Pivoting on conservative messaging • These reforms protect the sanctity of elections • The right to vote is at the heart of what it means to be an American. • If they can’t count on your vote, they’d rather you not be counted at all. • No one should prevent eligible Americans from voting, or registering to vote.
Anti-Deceptive Practices: What Worked • Minimal fiscal impact • Talk about “misinformation tactics” and “intentional deception” • Examples of voter intimidation from both sides of the aisle • Seniors and veterans
Responding to Common Objections • “Voters are protected under the current law.” • “There aren’t enough examples of this to justify action.” • “The penalties are too harsh. What if someone makes a simple mistake?”
Election Day Registration: What Worked • Getting buy-in from election administrators. • Working around constitutional limitations when necessary • Focusing on working people • Shifting the patronizing tone of conservative objections
Responding to Common Objections • “This is too complicated.” • “EDR will lead to fraud.”
Youth Preregistration: The Facts • Had younger citizens voted at the same rate as those aged 30 and over, seven million more votes would have been cast in 2008. • Registration rates of voters of color 18-29 lagged behind that of whites by as much as 20 percentage points (college bias, dropouts) • Preregistered voters were 2% more likely to vote in 2008 than those who registered after turning 18. Preregistered African Americans were 5.2% more likely to vote. • Voting in an election makes one 29% more likely to vote in the next.
Youth Preregistration: What Worked • Implementation costs are minimal • Pairing with a civics education component • Emphasizing the reduction in voter registration errors through preregistration
Responding to Common Objections • “Young people move a lot and there’s no point to getting them registered when it will just create redundant records.”
For more information – contact Cristina Francisco-McGuire Progressive States Network (212)-680-3116 x118 www.progressivestates.org Twitter: CristinaPSN