The Right to Vote

Civil Rights Commission Investigates Continuing Voter Disenfranchisement and Election Chaos in Florida

Washington - People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) president Ralph G. Neas Thursday testified on the continuing disarray in preparation for the elections in Florida, and detailed a nationwide, nonpartisan coalition program to help protect voter rights: Election Protection.

Election Protection Program Gives Florida Voters a Way to Check Potential Felon Match List, Prevent Wrongful Disenfranchisement

People For the American Way Foundation is giving Florida voters the opportunity to search the list of 47,000 "potential felon matches" the state claims may be purged from the voter rolls. The list is now a public document available as a result of the July 1st decision by Leon County Circuit Court in CNN v. Florida Department of State.

Floridians: click here to see if you are on the list

Florida Felon Purge List Made Public

In a victory for Florida voters, Circuit Court Judge Nikki Clark ruled that the list of 47,000 "potential felon matches" who the state claims may be purged from the voter polls must be made available to the public. This is a huge step forward in heading off potentially massive voter disenfranchisement the likes of which occurred in 2000.

Kast Resignation Prompts New Concerns on Florida Voting Purge, Fall Election

Tallahassee, Florida – In the wake of the resignation of the Florida state director of Elections, Ed Kast, People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) called for renewed efforts to restore voters wrongly purged from the voting rolls in 1999 and 2000, and called on Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood to delay implementation of a new purge list for the 2004 elections.

Primary Day Summary Shows Officials, Election Protection Volunteers Working Together to Prevent Problems

Operation of the Election Protection program during New Mexico’s June 1 primary ran smoothly, as poll monitors in Albuquerque helped voters who encountered problems, including polling places that did not open on time, confusing signage, conflicting advice on the use of provisional ballots, and other minor problems that were all settled in a timely fashion, allowing voters to cast their ballots.

People For the American Way Foundation Protests New Voter Purge

People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) is protesting Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood’s order for rapid implementation of a new purge list with the names of 47,000 Floridians, while thousands of voters remain wrongly disenfranchised from the purge lists implemented in the 2000 and 1999 elections. Foundation President Ralph G. Neas said voters wrongly stripped from the rolls in past elections should be restored before the same mistakes are made again, and he offered the foundation’s help.

Florida Felon Purge: Here We Go Again

In the wake of the Florida Secretary of State’s order to evaluate as many as 40,000 “potential felon matches” to determine if they should be removed from the voting rolls, People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) announced plans to contact county election officials to head off the massive voter disenfranchisement caused by a similar voter purge during the 2000 election fiasco.

6 Months to Election Day: Are We Ready?

With exactly six months to go before the elections in November, the Voices of the Electorate (V.O.T.E.) coalition today launched the nationwide, nonpartisan Know Your Rights/Election Protection program with kick-off events in four states: Florida, New Mexico, Ohio and Georgia. With record levels of voter turnout expected, and concerns raised over the reliability and accountability of new voting systems, the nonpartisan program will provide voter education materials, and recruit poll monitors and attorneys to provide free legal advice to voters in key states around the nation.

Celebrating Community, Faith and Civic Participation

CLEVELAND, OH. - On Friday, December 19, 2003, the African American Ministers Leadership Council (AAMLC), a nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering African American communities on the local, state and national levels, will launch a national non-partisan voter registration, education and mobilization campaign in preparation for the 2004 elections. The campaign, known as “Sanctified Seven - Victory Through Voting,” will encourage participants to register at least seven members of their community every few weeks leading up to next year’s election.