Rev. Dr. William Barber and Clergy Leaders to Condemn Nationwide Attempts at Racist Voter Suppressio

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http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/391971208/rev-dr-william-barber-and-clergy-leaders-to-condemn-nationwide-attempts-at-racist-voter-suppression


NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, July 12, 2017 /EINPresswire.com/ --

Rev. Dr. William J Barber II, National President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, co-Chair of the new Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival, and Visiting Professor at Union Theological Seminary, joined by Dr. Liz Theoharis, co-Chair of Kairos and the Poor People’s Campaign, will gather NYC and other clergy leaders for a press conference on the steps of City Hall on Monday, July 17 at 11:00 a.m. The group will condemn ongoing, proven acts of racist voter suppression and racial voting district gerrymandering that undermine our democratic process. They will also challenge President Trump’s newly formed, fraudulent Election Integrity Commission, and celebrate those who fight court-proven voter disenfranchisement. The event will culminate with attendees signing an open letter to the U.N., which accuses the Trump administration and other elected officials who promote racist voter suppression. These actions violate the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights by disenfranchising African Americans, other minorities, and low-income voters. Rev. Barber will also call on the United States Congress to fully restore Section V of the Voting Rights Act, institute automatic voter registration at age 18, expand early voting programs, and allow for same-day voter registration. These issues will be at the center of the ongoing planning for the Poor People's Campaign’s call for a national moral revival that will happen in 2018 in 25 states and Washington DC over a 40 day period.

“Enfranchisement is essential to human freedom and dignity,” said the Rev. Barber. “To deny citizens’ right to vote is to deny their full humanity. Too many people have bled and died in America’s long fight for voting rights. Their blood cries out against this evil. Racist voter suppression and district gerrymandering undermine the influence of the poor in the political process and allow extremists to get elected and promote policies that exacerbate injustice and inequality.”

President Trump’s Election Integrity Commission sought last week to obtain the personal information of all U.S. voters. This request was widely decried as not only unnecessary — given voter fraud’s virtual non-existence — but also as a likely pretense to further suppress voting blocs that are unlikely to support Republican candidates. Such attempts at disenfranchisement would not be unprecedented. 33 states have passed voter suppression laws that disproportionately affect poor, African American, and Latino voters. Moreover, in the 2016 election, there were almost 900 fewer voting sites when compared to 2012. An AP analysis suggested such policies, on top of race-driven gerrymandering in states like North Carolina and Wisconsin, could have given Republicans as many as 22 unearned seats in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, while the Justice Department has long fought efforts to deny voting rights, it has dramatically changed course under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In February, for example, the Justice Dept. dropped its objection to a Texas voter suppression law — one a federal judge later ruled unconstitutional. More recently, In June the Justice Department sent states a letter intended to push state voting commissions to remove more voters from their rolls.


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Faith Leaders to Submit Letter of Protest to the United Nations

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