Phil Sparks covers Groves' first press conference

Phil Sparks of the Census Project has posted a great rundown of Census Director Robert Groves' first press conference over at the Census Project Blog. Check it out.

Voting in Germany. And then, voting in the United States.

Germany's federal election was yesterday, re-electing Angela Merkel for a 2nd term as Chancellor.

In honor of my sister Hilary, who is studying abroad in Berlin right now, here's an interesting piece on how elections work in Germany.

In a nutshell, Germans have 2 votes.

The 1st vote (seen on the left side of this sample ballot from 2005- click to enlarge) directly elects the voter's constituency representative. There are 299 of these representatives directly elected, representing half of the lower house.

The 2nd vote is cast for a "party list" (see the right side of the ballot) and determines the distribution of the remaining 299 seats to each of the various political parties.
An additional quantity of "overhang seats" are allotted in case any party receives more votes through the 1st direct election than it would normally receive through its allotted distribution of seats based on the 2nd party vote.

See the pie chart to the left for the breakdown of seats distributed in Sunday's election.

Interesting tidbit- Germany's government takes a much higher responsibility for registering its citizens to vote than the United States government does.

Germany uses existing civil registries at the municipal level (inclusion on these lists is mandatory) to automatically generate voter lists, according to this report from the Brennan Center. If a German will be 18 by the next election, they are automatically added to this voter list and receive a notification card in the mail.

By contrast, the United States- along with Belize and Burundi- places the burden on citizens to take responsibility for knowing the rules and registering themselves to vote.

Is it any surprise that in 2005, 93% of eligible Germans were registered to vote, while in the United States, 68% of age-eligible citizens were registered to vote in 2006?

Voter turnout is generally excellent in Germany, averaging in the past quarter century at around 80% - though in Sunday's election, a "lackluster campaign" seems to have contributed to a decrease in voter turnout to 71%. However, compare this to US voter turnout, which in 2008's extremely high-profile election amounted to just 62% of eligible voters.

Imagine how US turnout might be affected if we combined the high-profile races of our 2008 election with Germany's near-universal voter registration (not to mention, their Sunday Election Day...).

MassVOTE kicks off 2010 Census activities

On Wednesday afternoon, Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network partner MassVOTE kicked off its 2010 Census activities with an event co-sponsored by the Boston Foundation amongst others.

The event, attended by more than 60 representatives from Nonprofits around Massachusetts, featured (from right to left in the photo) Avi Green, executive director of MassVOTE, Kathy Ludgate, director of the Boston Regional Census Office, Michael Weekes, President and CEO of the Providers' Council, Paulo Pinto, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers and Kelly Bates, executive director of the Access Strategies Fund. The speakers offered a broad perspective on the challenges and opportunities for 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the 2010 Census.

Director Ludgate provided an overview of activities in the coming months and extended the help of her office and staff of nearly 100 partnership specialists and assistants to the attending

Weekes, a member of NVEN's steering committee, spoke about the high stakes for Massachusetts in next year's Census. Based on data obtained in the 2000 Census, Massachusetts received more than 9.6 billion dollars in federal funds in 2007, of which more than half went Health and Human Services. Looked at another way, each person counted in the 2000 Census earned Massachusetts $1,493.61 in federal funds in 2007. Those individuals and dollars add up fast.

Pinto spoke about the importance of the Census to ethnic and immigrant communities and some of the simple tactics nonprofits can use to reach out to their clients and constituents. While Mr. Pinto's organization has formed a Complete Count Committee to help ensure an accurate count of the Portuguese and Brazilian community, he stressed the importance of a range of tactics from putting up a poster in your organization's lobby, providing flyers at events or including Census messaging in your communications to becoming Questionnaire Assistance Center or Be Counted site. Every nonprofit has a role to play in the 2010 Census.

Bates, of Access Strategies, not ready to concede the fight for the congressional seat Massachusetts is predicted to lose during the next apportionment, discussed the importance of a complete and accurate count of Mass residents. Bates also discussed a new initiative by Access Strategies, the Boston Foundation and a growing list of local foundations to create a Census Equity Fund to provide $500,000 to Massachusetts nonprofits for work on the 2010 Census. Bates expects that on-the-ground work by grantee organizations will be in full swing between January and June 2010. The groups will be sponsoring public education events; distributing and displaying census information onsite, in their community, and in organizational materials; phonebanking and going door-to-door to help people complete and return their census forms; and promoting the census in ethnic media and markets.


All attendees received a copy of NVEN's Census Toolkit for Nonprofit Organizations, which provides nonprofits with all the information they need to get started involving their communities in the 2010 Census. To order your copy, visit www.nonprofitscount.org/toolkit-orders

Congratulations to MassVOTE on a very successful Census 2010 outreach campaign kickoff!

Indiana strikes down voter ID law

From the NY Times-

An Indiana law requiring voters to show identification, declared constitutional by the United States Supreme Court just last year, was struck down Thursday by a state appellate court.

The state court said the law violated the Indiana Constitution by not treating all voters equally.

The major difference between the state court decision and the Supreme Court’s decision in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board is that the state court was interpreting the Indiana Constitution, while the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution of the United States. Generally, state courts are given the last word in interpreting their own constitutions. (Continue reading...)

"Voter Registration Around the World"

A report from the Brennan Center details voter registration systems in 16 other countries compared to the United States' system, gathering best practices and suggestions for reform of US registration methods.

Check out where the US falls when compared to other major countries on the scale of voter vs. government responsibility for registration!

Chart from - "Expanding Democracy: Voter Registration Around the World," Brennan Center 2009.

Congratulations to MassVOTE!

Congratulations to NVEN partner MassVOTE, whose initiative “We Need Two Senators” was mentioned in the NY Times last Wednesday!

The "We Need Two Senators" campaign was created in partnership with advocacy organizations around the state to encourage the State House to allow for a temporary appointment fill Senator Ted Kennedy’s vacant Senate seat; a hearing was held on the proposal on Tuesday, drawing crowds of over 600 (many bearing MassVOTE’s “We Need Two Senators” stickers).

Current Massachusetts law would keep the seat empty until a special election can be held (currently planned for January 19th, 2010), meaning Massachusetts would be down a vote in Washington this fall during crucial health care debates. "It is absolutely essential that Massachusetts not go underrepresented," said U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass. "All hands on deck."


Photo- The Boston Channel

Will Supreme Court Open Door to Unlimited Corporate Cash in Elections?

It is hard to believe our framers fought the American Revolution, wrote the Constitution and enacted its First Amendment to protect large infusions of cash from corporate interests into elections. When political speech can only be afforded by the wealthiest sliver of the population, it seems hardly free.

Today the Supreme Court, or five of its justices, weighed rolling back six decades of rightful worrying by the top court on the undue influence of money and politics. They want to give corporations "free speech" protections, seemingly missing the "free" part of the first amendment.

More reason to consider the other option - providing public funding to elections to ensure more speech for all. Check out the excellent post by Americans for Campaign Reform on today's hearing.

New Census Resource for Nonprofits

Got forwarded this announcement through Terri Ann Lowenthal today - seems the Advancement Project is launching a new web-based mapping system! They're going to host an online webinar to explain how the technology utilized by their new mapping system "Healthy City" will be used by nonprofits for census and stimulus work, as well as to inform on the upcoming redistricting process.

The webinar will be next Tuesday, September 15th at 3:00-4:30 pm ET. The link for reserving your seat is here. Below is the login info.

Webinar ID: 287‐917‐650, Password: Healthy City
Join the conference call: Dial: 1‐800‐250‐2600, Password: 863367#

Committee to Modernize Voter Registration launches

Monday marked the launch of the Committee to Modernize Voter Registration, founded by former political campaign rivals Marc E. Elias and Trevor Potter, as an effort to bring the voter registration process into the 21st century. The paper forms system currently in place is an outdated system, they argue, that wastes resources and overburdens election officials, and voters suffer as a result. Automating the process would be:

• more cost effective, since we would save on labor and printing costs
• more efficient, since we'd be able to take advantage of today's technology
  
• more accurate, since we'd be able to reduce human error
• more secure, since we'd be able to eliminate third parties in the voter registration process.

To read more about the problems with voter registration and to learn about The Committee to Modernize Voter Registration's proposed solutions, visit their website.

FairVote: If you proportionally allocate, they will come

From the FairVote blog: How Winner-Take-All Rules in Presidential Primaries Squash Turnout

• Average turnout of all eligible voters for 2008 Republican presidential primaries through February 5: 12.6%. After February 5, when John McCain effectively secured nomination: 8.4%.

• Average turnout for 2008 Democratic presidential primaries through February 5: 17.7%. After February 5: 23.6%.

• Share of popular vote won by John McCain through February 5: 39%. Share of delegates won by McCain through February 5: 75%. *

For more, click here.

Census Director visits New Orleans, announces plans to hand-deliver 2010 Census forms in Katrina regions

(Image- Bloomberg) NEW ORLEANS — Census forms will be hand-delivered in the city of New Orleans and surrounding areas affected by the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita to get the most accurate count possible following concerns that the region could lose federal representation and funding.

The measures announced by U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves on Tuesday did not go as far as those sought by Mayor Ray Nagin and some advocacy groups to locally count potentially thousands of former residents scattered across the country who are trying to come back.

By at least one estimate, 75 percent of New Orleans' pre-Katrina population has returned in the nearly four years since the Aug. 29, 2005, storm and levee breaches. In some neighborhoods, there remain huge swaths of empty homes. Read more.

Counting Undocumented Immigrants

A report by Afton Branche of The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy entitled The Next Economic Imperative: Undocumented Immigrants in the 2010 Census explains why undocumented immigrants must be included in the upcoming census. Among the key findings, Branche reports that:

• A complete count of undocumented immigrants ensures proper allocation of federal funds for state and local programs that benefit all residents, including education, infrastructure, transportation, and health care.

• An accurate count of undocumented immigrants ensures that non-profit organizations have accurate demographic data when determining outreach services, like English language and vocational programs. Better outreach means immigrants will be able to acquire the skill sets needed to contribute to their communities

• Businesses also use census data to determine where and when to invest. An accurate count of undocumented immigrants enables businesses to invest in new markets, and create jobs in growing communities.

To read the full report, click here.

Japan's Internet-free election

TIME - Campaigning officially kicked off Tuesday in Japan as candidates for the Diet's upcoming elections took to the streets to canvas for votes. And while the Aug. 30 general election could be revolutionary — with Japan on the cusp of a regime change that could end nearly 54 years of virtually unbroken rule — candidates' official campaigning methods are far from it. With 12 days to go until national elections, candidates rode in vans, armed with banners, leaflets and loudspeakers for soapbox speeches at train stations and street corners across the nation. But as their names were blared out on the first day of political open season, their campaigns on Twitter and Facebook were silent. One thing that Japanese politicians aren't armed with is the Internet. Read more.

New publication compiles first-time voter stories

(Photo- Brennan Center for Justice)
My First Vote, a new publication from the Brennan Center for Justice, is a compilation of stories from people across the country who voted for the first time in November 2008 after having lost, and then regained, their right to vote following a criminal conviction.

Here's an excerpt:

I’ve been battling substance abuse for thirty years and have been in and out of prison all of my life. But I’ve been out, and clean, for more than four years. My life has completely changed. And on November 4th, with millions of Americans, I had a say about what happens in our country. There were tears in my eyes as I waited to vote. I felt like I was finally a productive member of society. I’ve never before felt like I could make a difference in terms of what happens around me. But I walked out of the polling place on Election Day feeling like I mattered, that I made a difference. I realized how far I’ve come. Amazing. -Linda Steele, New York, NY

Census Bureau begins printing 2010 questionnaires

(Photo- Census Bureau Public Information Office)
Starting now, the Census Bureau will need to print more than 1.5 million documents every day to get ready to send out over 120 million questionnaires in mid-March to households across America.

The printing kickoff highlights some new changes made in the Census form production process this time around.

• For the first time, more than 13 million questionnaires will be bilingual in English and Spanish, in an effort to improve mail-back rates by targeting areas with a high density of Spanish speakers.

• This year, Census forms are more environmentally green than ever. They'll use percent less ink than Census 2000, and will be printing on 30 percent recycled paper. Read the press release from the Census Bureau.

Newest Census Bureau E-Newsletter for its 2010 Census Partners

Includes a profile of the newly confirmed Census Director, Robert Groves; an overview of the 2010 Census outreach activities currently going on across the country (including info on the upcoming 2010 Census Mobile Tour!); tips for creating an effective public service announcement and much more.

Really nice update from the Census Bureau - it's good to be a partner of the 2010 Census !

Click here to read the whole newsletter!

Learn more about how your organization can partner with the 2010 Census.

George Washington comments on the first-ever Census

Did you know that the 2010 Census will only be the 5th time in American history that the U.S. Census is conducted primarily by mail-in forms, instead of by officials going door to door?

It wasn't until 1970 that the Census Bureau began asking households to fill out a form at home and send it in; before then, temporary census workers (and before them, federal marshals) collected the data in person.

Read what George Washington said after he was presented with the returns from the first-ever U.S. Census, conducted by federal marshals on horseback in 1790.

Returns of the Census have already been made from several of the States and a tolerably just estimate has been formed now in others, by which it appears that we shall hardly reach four millions; but one thing is certain: our real numbers will exceed, greatly, the official returns of them; because the religious scruples of some would not allow them to give in their lists; the fear of others that it was intended as the foundation of a tax induced them to conceal or diminish theirs; and thro' the indolence of the people and the negligence of many of the Officers, numbers are omitted.

-The Writings of George Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., vol. 31 Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1939: 329.

True then, true today.

Source: "American People: Politics and Science in Census Taking," by Kenneth Prewitt, Population Reference Bureau.

Aug 4th Nonprofits Count! webinar available for download

Our webinar "Nonprofits and the Census: Mobilizing our Communities for Complete Count," which took place on Tuesday, August 4th, is now available for download.The webinar, which followed on the heels of our June 4th webinar on the role of nonprofits in the 2010 Census, features special guest Terri Ann Lowenthal, Member, President Obama’s Transition Team for the Census, Former Director, House Census Oversight Subcommittee and currently a legislative and policy consultant.

Download the August 4th PowerPoint

Myths and Facts on Immigrants and the Census

Image - The Providence Journal

Recent headlines and controversy over the expansion and revision of certain DHS programs has the potential to increase distrust- by both immigrants and the groups that serve them- around agencies of the federal government. With the 2010 Census right around the corner, the timing for this distrust could not be worse.

The below list (excerpted from the FCCP) gives an excellent outline of why immigrants (legal and non-legal) and the groups who serve them, can rest assured that:

1. When a non-citizen- legal resident or not- fills out and return his or her 2010 Census form, they need not fear their data being used against them by immigration authorities-

and

2. It is actually in their best interest to fill out that form.

_____________________________________________

Myth: Undocumented immigrants should not be counted by the census.

Fact: Everyone counts in the census, regardless of immigration status.

• The census is designed to count everyone living in the United States, regardless of legal status
• Census statistics are used to figure out what kind of services each community needs, including schools, hospitals and health clinics, and jobs.
• Census information is used to figure out which communities have enough people who speak languages other than English so as to require services in other languages.

Myth: Immigrants can avoid the census by not completing their census form.

Fact: If you don't want a visit from the government, complete your form promptly.

• People who return a completed census form will not be contact by the Census Bureau
• People who don't return a form by April 1 could have census workers come to their home up to six times to try to get a form completed

Myth: Immigrants don't benefit from the census.

Fact: Everyone, including immigrants, benefits from investments in education, health care, and jobs that are distributed based on census information.

And census data are also used in ways that are of special importance to immigrants, including:

• funding for nonprofit organizations to provide job assistance aimed at making foreign-born people economically self-sufficient;
• helping states and local agencies develop health care and other services tailored to the language and cultural diversity of immigrants, including health care and other services tailored to the language and cultural diversity of elderly people under the Older Americans Act.
• allocating funds to school districts for children with limited English language proficiency;

Myth: Answering the census could get me in trouble with immigration or my landlord.

Fact: There's no need to fear the census. Individual information is safe and your privacy is strongly protected.

• The census form does not ask about immigration status.
• Census responses are confidential and protected by the strongest privacy laws we have.
• No other law or agency can override protections for the confidentiality of people's responses to census questions – not the Patriot Act, the IRS, Homeland Security, or ICE.
• No private company, landlord or employer can get any household's census information, even with a court order.

Myth: Immigrants can gain influence by threatening to boycott the census.

Fact: Boycotting the census can only hurt immigrant communities and limit their influence.

Numbers matter. In the past, immigrants have been more likely to be missed in the census. Getting everyone counted will demonstrate the strength of our communities and will give us a bigger voice in government, business, and decisions that affect our lives and families.

More on same sex marriage and the 2010 Census

(From the Washington Post)
New decision from the Counsel to the Department of Commerce on collecting and reporting same-sex marriage data in the 2010 Census, as well as guidelines how the statistics and coding will be handled when same-sex couples identify as "married" on the 2010 Census form.