A Ban on Voter Registration, NY Times, October 26, 2005

[Coastie for Truth]

Hurricane Katrina made it politically necessary for Republican Congressional leaders to tone down their effort to kill off federal programs for affordable housing. But it has not stopped them from dragging their feet on an important bill to create a valuable housing fund by tapping into a small portion of the after-tax profits of the federally backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The fund would initially be aimed at the hurricane-ravaged gulf states, but would eventually help to house poor, elderly and disabled people nationally.

Not satisfied with just delaying the bill, House ideologues are advocating an outrageous and potentially unconstitutional provision that would bar the nonprofit groups that build most affordable housing from participating in the fund if they also participate in even nonpartisan voter registration. This would force such nonprofits to choose between their historically important roles: promoting civic engagement and providing housing and other services for low-income people. The provision would conflict with state laws that require housing grant recipients to do things like register voters and would put the federal government in the unacceptable position of actively discouraging political participation.

The long-overdue housing fund contains numerous safeguards that would prevent grant recipients from using federal dollars for advocacy. A measure that would bar them from nonpartisan activities has absolutely no place in a democracy.