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June 8, 2012 3:29 pm | By Paul Gordon
Sen. Coburn Hopes His Party Won’t Block His State’s Judicial Nominees
Here's yet another sign that the Senate Republican leadership's obstruction of qualified judicial nominees is beyond the pale: It is too extreme for Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn. Yesterday, the Judiciary Committee approved by voice vote President Obama's nomination of Robert…
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June 7, 2012 10:00 pm | By Dylan
Registration drives to resume in Florida
Last week, Judge Robert Hinkle of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued an injunction blocking most of the worst provisions of HB 1355. While the litigation proceeds, community groups are set to resume their…
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June 7, 2012 9:56 pm | By Dylan
UPDATE: Voter suppression spotlight shines squarely on Florida
UPDATE: What we expected has come to pass: Secretary of State Ken Detzner has officially responded to the Department of Justice, indicating that the voter purge will continue, throwing his own accusations back at DOJ, and giving them a deadline…
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June 7, 2012 2:00 pm | By Dylan
Election Day Registration takes center stage in California
With the right to vote under attack, it is refreshing to see positive electoral reform making its way from the east coast to the west. In California, the Assembly-passed AB 1436 provides for Election Day Registration. Where current law requires…
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June 7, 2012 1:34 pm | By Dylan
Massachusetts working toward positive electoral reforms
An election modernization bill (H 4139) intended to "strengthen vote-counting and voter registration processes" has passed the Massachusetts House, in stark contrast with attacks on voting rights dominating the news in many other states. Under H 4139, 16- and 17-year-olds…
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June 6, 2012 7:22 pm | By Justin
New Report Grades States’ Response to Citizens United
A new report by the Corporate Reform Coalition released this morning grades each state's response to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, the flawed decision that opened the floodgates to unlimited, undisclosed spending by corporations and special interests to…
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June 6, 2012 4:49 pm | By Jen Herrick
Voter suppression spotlight shines squarely on Florida
News out of Florida this morning suggests that, despite a warning from the Department of Justice, Governor Rick Scott and Secretary of State Ken Detzner will proceed, and possibly expand, their sweeping effort to purge voters from the rolls. The…
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June 5, 2012 8:12 pm | By Paul Gordon
Vitter Single-Handedly Deprives Louisianans of Their Day in Court
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter has announced that he will not allow the Senate Judiciary Committee to even consider the nomination of Shelly D. Dick to a judgeship in the Middle District of Louisiana. He has not challenged her qualifications or…
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June 5, 2012 8:06 pm | By Justin
Prop 8 Appeal Sent to the Supreme Court
This afternoon, the full 9th Circuit Court of Appeals declined to hear an appeal of the Prop 8 case. In February, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit struck down Prop 8, finding California's revocation of the right of same-sex…
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June 5, 2012 4:25 pm | By Ben Betz
PFAW Helps Get Out the Vote in Wisconsin
PFAW staff, members and activists have been very busy in Wisconsin working to turn out every last progressive vote in the final days leading up to the June 5 recall election. Here's PFAWÂ Political Director Randy Borntrager at a field office…
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June 5, 2012 3:02 pm | By Justin
Recall Foes Resort to Cheating
Opponents of Wisconsin's recall elections have resorted to one of the Right's favorite dirty tricks to suppress the vote: deceitful robocalls. Wisconsin voters are reporting that last night, the day before the recall election, a wave of vote-suppressing calls are…
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June 4, 2012 9:36 pm | By Brian
Texas Voter Purge Endangering the Status of Hundreds of Thousands of Voters
While Florida’s local election supervisors are rebelling against a flawed voter purge championed by Gov. Rick Scott, the Houston Chronicle reports that Texas is holding its own voter purge that could jeopardize the status of hundreds of thousands of registered…
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June 1, 2012 8:46 pm | By Dylan
Voter ID goes to court in Minnesota
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota along with the League of Women Voters Minnesota, Common Cause Minnesota, Jewish Community Action, and five Minnesota voters have challenged an amendment to the Minnesota constitution (HF 2738, sponsored by ALEC State Chairwoman…
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June 1, 2012 6:06 pm | By Calvin Sloan
Justice Stevens: A Crack in the Foundation of the Citizens United Majority Opinion is Inevitable
One of the last acts of Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court bench that he sat on for nearly thirty-five years was to read a summary of his scathing dissent of the Citizens United v. FEC decision, aloud,…
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June 1, 2012 4:53 pm | By Justin
PFAW Presents at ‘Crisis in the Courts’ Forum
Yesterday, PFAW’s Marge Baker joined a distinguished panel of legal scholars, federal judges and officials representing members of congress and the White House at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, OH to discuss possible solutions to the unprecedented vacancy…
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May 31, 2012 8:35 pm | By Dylan
New Hampshire legislature embroiled in voting debate
The New Hampshire House and Senate have just reached a compromise on a proposed voter ID law, following disagreements over the implementation timeline and specific forms of ID. The compromise combines the Senate’s version of the bill (SB 289) with…
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May 31, 2012 6:50 pm | By Miranda Blue
No Reason for DOMA, Says Appeals Court
A federal appeals court in Boston today upheld a lower court ruling that called the key section of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” unconstitutional. Section 3 of DOMA bans the federal government from recognizing legal marriages between people of…
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May 31, 2012 4:16 pm | By Justin
Wal-Mart Drops ALEC
Wal-mart announced yesterday that it is ending their membership in ALEC, making it the 18th corporation to do so. The company also joins 4 nonprofits and 54 state legislators who have severed their ties to the organization. Wal-Mart had been…
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May 30, 2012 7:15 pm | By Sam
Mary E. Gonzalez Wins Texas House Primary
People For the American Way is happy to congratulate Mary E. Gonzalez on her win last night in a Democratic primary in El Paso, Texas. She will run unopposed in November for District 75’s seat in the Texas State House…
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May 30, 2012 6:34 pm | By Justin
Super PACs Make 2008 Look Like Child’s Play
In total, the candidates in the 2008 presidential election spent just over $1 billion on their campaigns. Just four years ago, President Obama raised $750 million, primarily via small donations from grassroots supporters. But the landscape looks pretty different in…