Democratizing Elections

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Democratizing Elections

• US SOCIETY SPRING 09

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Outline

• Voter Disenfranchisement
• Voter Suppression
• VoterOwned Elections
• Instant Runoff Voting

Planting the Standard of Democracy
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Voter Disenfranchisement

• Philip Green, KarenRose Anderson, Tom Stephens

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Outline

• Voter Fraud Protection
• Mail In Ballots
• Felon Disenfranchisement

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Voter Fraud Protection

• Required Photo ID
• Goal prevention of individual cases of fraud
• Problem Not all citizens or registered voters
  have valid photo ID (largely affects minorities
  and women)

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Mail In Ballots

• Not available in many U.S. states
• Goal Avoids possible voter fraud
• Problem Many people unable to get to polls due
  to disability, distance, busy schedules etc
  therefore lower voter turn out.

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Historic significance of voting rights in the U.S.

• Upon founding, only white land owning men had the
  right to vote
• 1868 - 14th Amendment grants African Americans
  the legal right to vote
• 1920 - 16th Amendment grants women the right to
  vote

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Historic Significance of Voting rights in the U.S.

• 1964 - Civil Rights Act bans the suppression
  African Americans voters
• 1971 - Congress lowers voting age to 18
• Today - Over 5 million people in the US remain
  banned from exercising their right to vote

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Felon Disenfranchisement

• Voting restrictions placed on citizens convicted
  of a felony
• 48 States prohibit inmates from voting while
  incarcerated for a felony
• 30 States exclude felons on parole/probation from
  voting
• Kentucky Virginia deny the right to vote to
  ex-felons permanently

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Who is Affected?

• 5.3 Million Americans (1 in every 41 adults) have
  currently or permanently lost the right to vote
  as result of felony conviction
• 2.1 Million are ex-offenders that have completed
  their sentences

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Election Outcomes

• Although the outcome of the extraordinarily
  close 2000 presidential election could have been
  altered by a large number of factors, it would
  almost certainly have been reversed had voting
  rights been extended to any category of
  disenfranchised felons
• Had disenfranchised felons been permitted to
  vote, we estimate that Gores national margin
  of victory in the popular vote would have
  surpassed one million votes Regardless of
  popular vote, however, one state Florida held
  the balance of power. If disenfranchised felons
  in Florida had been permitted to vote, Democrat
  Al Gore would certainly have carried the state
  and the election.

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Minorities

• Disproportionate number of minority adults
  disenfranchised due to conviction of a felony
• African Americans
• Make up 38 of disenfranchised adults but 13.4
  of U.S. population
• 13 of African Americans are disenfranchised (7
  times the national average)
• Latino Americans
• Make up 16 of disenfranchised adults but 13 of
  U.S. Population

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Felon Re-Enfranchisement

• Promotes rehabilitation civic integration for
  those convicted of felonies
• Gives a voice to those disproportionately
  disadvantaged by felony convictions (namely
  minorities low income communities)

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Efforts Toward Re-Enfranchisement

• Educating ex-felons about voting rights process
  for regaining right to vote
• Grassroots re-enfranchisement projects
• --www.projectvote.org
• --www.sentencingproject.org

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Voter Suppression

• Katlin Pointer
• Ronnie Balog-Ressler

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Outline

• Distribution of Election Resources
• Barriers to Third Party Registration
• Challenging Voters at the Polls
• Voter Intimidation
• Purging Voters
• Election Day Registration

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Voter Suppression

• Distribution of Election Resources
• Problems at voting polls in minority and urban
  precincts
• Discourages voters due to not enough voting
  machines
• Poorly Trained and disorganized poll workers

Voter suppression video
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Voter Suppression

• Third Party Registration Restrictions
• Preserving political successes
• Regulation of third party activities
• Concerns of voter fraud

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Voter Suppression

• Challenging voters at the polls
• Intimidation
• Police presence at polling places
• Voters improperly asked for photo ID and/or proof
  of citizenship
• Exclusion of 20 million Americans who lack photo
  identification

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Voter Suppression

• Voter intimidation
• Deceptive flyers
• Misleading and/or harassing phone calls
• Forced to declare aloud their party affiliation

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Voter Suppression

• Voter caging
• Purging or challenge voters registration
• Undeliverable mail compiled into "challenge
  lists" of unverifiable addresses and can be used
  to challenge voters' eligibility

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Voter Suppression

• State voter challenge laws
• Challenge the right of other citizens to vote
• Post-Reconstructive Era
• Employed restrictive residency requirements,
  periodic registration, poll taxes, and literacy
  or understanding requirements.

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Voter Suppression

• Election Day Registration
• Supporters
• Increased voter turnout
• Decreased Voters confusion
• Human Nature of Procrastination
• Opponents
• Time/financial cost
• Increase in Fraud

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Public Campaign Financing and PortlandsVoter-ow
ned Elections System

Mary Heil Virginia Rumfelt
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Outline

• Old ways of doing things
• New election system
• How VOE works
• Oregon
• Is it still a broken system?

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The conundrum

• http//www.voterownedhawaii.org/roadvideo.php

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In theory

• Candidates that demonstrate broad community
  support may choose to receive all the funding
  they will need to finance a campaign.
• People from increasingly historically
  underrepresented would be able to run and,
  therefore, a more diverse population is
  represented.

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How does V-OE work?
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• Along with a handful of other US States, Portland
  is the first US city to attempt the VOE model
• Online voting
• Oregon to join interstate compact to modify the
  Electoral College

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Success debatable

• Until now, Money Has Limited Democracy
• Roughly 90 of elections in PDX had been won by
  the candidate with the most bucks and access to
  the media.
• A surge of empowerment felt in voters
• Controversy Obamas refusal of Public Funds
  during the 2008 presidential election
• Broken System
• Record breaking internet fundraising

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Instant Runoff Voting

• Michael Saxton
• Cassidy Jorgensen
• Dennis Dunn

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What is IRV?

• Alternative voting process to the electoral
  system
• Based on a ranking system of preferred candidates
• Based on winning the majority of votes not
  plurality (more than anyone else)

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How IRV Works

• Muppet Slides
• http//www.instantrunoff.com/how/muppets/

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IRV Objections

• Multiple choices mean multiple votes
• The other votes are only counted if you chose the
  losing candidate
• Ranking can hurt candidates

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IRV Objections cont.

• Creates false majorities if there isnt a clear
  number one choice
• Costs the taxpayer more money

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IRV Benefits

• Elects candidate with a true majority
• Increases voter turnout

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IRV Benefits cont.

• Eliminates primaries and saves money
• Candidates use a less negative campaign strategy
  to attract voters

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IRV Benefits cont.

• Lesser known candidates can attract more votes
• IRV only counts one vote at a time
• Minimizes wasted votes