NAACP Reports on "Block the Vote" Efforts

The NAACP recently produced a report, "Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America," that contextualizes the emergence of recent "block the vote" measures and explains their potential effects.

The report examines a slew of legislative proposals, ballot initiatives, and voting laws that have been enacted or proposed: 14 states have passed 25 measures designed to restrict or limit ballot access, including new and enhanced voter identification requirements, provisions that curtail access to voter registration, limits on registration drives, and reduced voting periods.

Unfortunately, many of these restrictions will disproportionately affect the populations that nonprofits serve, particularly minorities, low-income voters, the elderly, and young people.

But most importantly, the report offers ideas for how to counter these efforts and expand access to our democracy by:

1. Informing yourself about voting laws and how they affect you.
2. Equipping your community with the information needed to ensure that all eligible voters are able to successfully cast a ballot.
3. Practicing “Each One, Bring One” by bringing an eligible first-time voter, or returning voter who otherwise might not vote, with you when you vote on Election Day.
4. Volunteering to serve as a poll worker, monitor, or translator who assists voters on Election Day.
5. Taking action to urge your elected officials to fight these restrictive election laws.

Read the report, and join our February webinar "States Move to Restrict Voting: How Nonprofits Can Defend the Right to Vote" to learn more.

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