Support Soars For New Voting Rights Amendment

[Kevin Spidel]

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Support Soars For New Voting Rights Amendment
H. J. Res. 28 Has 54 Original Co-Sponsors



Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., today introduced House Joint Resolution 28 for a third consecutive Congress. The resolution proposes to add a new affirmative individual 'right to vote' amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He introduced it with 54 original co-sponsors.



Jackson said, "I first introduced the Voting Rights Amendment on November 6, 2001, during the first session of the 107th Congress. During the entire 107th Congress the bill had zero co-sponsors. It was re-introduced in the 108th Congress - with no original co-sponsors - and after two years of hard work 45 members signed on as co-sponsors. The fact that we have 54 original co-sponsors in the 109th Congress shows that the idea of adding a Voting Rights Amendment to the Constitution is growing by leaps and bounds. Original co-sponsors are members who agree to be on the bill when it is introduced. Another member came on the bill the next day for a total of 55 co-sponsors.



"Every member of the Congressional Black Caucus is on the bill, plus four members from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, eight members from the Progressive Caucus, and four members from the Women's Caucus. Our goal is to get a minimum of 100 co-sponsors by the end of the 109th Congress. I actually believe we can do much better!



"I am truly excited about the progress we are making in fighting for a new Voting Rights Amendment for the American people through a new constitutional amendment," Jackson concluded.



-30-

[efhmc]

1. That sounds promising. Dare I hope?

[dhinojosa]

2. Im excited too.

Can't wait

[Tigress DEM]

5. Have Faith Man....

Faith is believing in SPITE of the EVIDENCE, then watching the Evidence CHANGE.

We are part of changing the situation. These nasty things the repubs are doing CAN NOT STAND the Light of DAY without revealing themselves in their TRUE nature.

And the DU is turning on every damm lamp in the nation.

AWESOME!!!

[FreedomAngel82]

14. As Jackson's father would say

"Keep hope a live." Any republiacns on this? :shrug: Probably not.

[dhinojosa]

3. Republicans might not hold office again...

With fair elections, who knows? :)

[rumpel]

4. you mean the ultra right wingers

[Tigress DEM]

6. Fairly elected. OK.

But with the ground swell we have going... the only thing that could trip us up is arguing amongst ourselves.

So, I guess we have some work to do there. Yah.

Still even AARP has mentioned not voting Repub again because of being bounced on their head twice by the fundie right.

Who wants the repubs once their nasty game plans are known?

[FreedomAngel82]

15. Nice

I'm sure there would be a few republicans from some red states but not as many as before. :)

[Peace Patriot]

7. I'm just afraid that the Constitutional amendment idea opens up the...

...possibility of a Rose Garden event (I can just see it!) with George Bush, Kenneth Blackwell, Katherine Harris, Wally O'Dell, John Negroponte, Alberto Gonzales, Condoleeza Rice, and Dick Cheney, all singing "We Shall Overcome."

Anybody think Alberto Gonzales is going to enforce this amendment?

We already have a Voting Rights Act that forbids most of what happened in Ohio--but nothing that prevents private BushCon companies from counting our votes in secret (or not counting them).

I'm not against it in principle. It's not a bad idea at all. It's a good idea! BUT, without drastic changes in the electronic voting system, NOW, we might as well kiss our democracy goodbye. IT WILL LET PEOPLE--Dems AND BushCons--OFF THE HOOK! They'll say they did something. But WHAT?

BushCons are already in utter contempt of the Constitution. Dems, too, on the Iraq war and NAFTA. You think anybody but Robert Byrd cares what the Constitution says?

To repeat, it's a good idea--but like Arnold Schwarzenegger redistricting California (and Tom DeLay redistricting Texas), the timing of an idea can be critically important.

Will this solve the problem of the stolen 2004 election? No.

Maybe, some day, if our democracy survives (that is, if it is saved by grass roots activists struggling for election transparency in each state and county), then it may lead to the end of the Electoral College, the end of our filthy campaign contribution system, the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, the end of TV corporate news media tyranny over election reporting, and real democracy.

But real election reform has to come FIRST, not the other way around. This Amendment won't do anything by itself--and it risks lulling people to sleep again.

[Tigress DEM]

9. Could happen that way... but I'm not letting anyone sleep thru this.

:kick:

Repubs are running scared.

In another thread they are trying to make porn not so bad because the guy takes down terrorist sites. (Gannon Spin)

Tide is turning.

Check out what Conyers is doing. :kick:

Also Hillary is working on paper trail and machine issues on her bill.

[Enquiringkitty]

12. Arkansas has a bill coming up to require a paper verification copy

for the voting machines due to the suspicion about electronic machine tampering.

[Helga Scow Stern]

10. You tell'em, Peace Patriot.

It is a good thing, but it in no way allows any complacency on our part.

[wildflower]

11. Good point, Peace Patriot.

And I'm laughing at the Rose Garden image you evoked.

I guess the best we can all do is keep alert, amendment or no. (But as you said, the amendment would certainly be a good thing!)

-wildflower

[kster]

16. Ageed........nt

[anaxarchos]

21. Peace Patriot, I always agree with what you post...

...except this time. Think movement. Think ERA.

A fight for a Constitutional Right to Vote galvanizes the movement, focuses debate on the stolen election (why else do we "need" it?), puts the Republicans on the defensive (I don't buy that they easily co-opt it), and gives reason and, more importantly, a common program for local initiatives.

Without something like this we are talking techno twaddle about hacking machines and paper ballots - And I'm a computer guy!

IMHO, It is not about "fixing the problem"; It's a struggle to the... errr... <ahem>, uhhh, a really serious struggle, to take them out (at least the wacko right ones who are today a majority of the GOP). They are quietly killing democracy. We need to loudly, nationally, and relentlessly, HIT BACK.

[minorjive]

24. Peace Patriot, why is your right not to worry whether your votes counts

more important than the rights of people of color and low-income people to have a law that adequately protects them from voter intimidation and other forms of disenfranchisement?

The possibility that votes were hacked or that exit polls and final counts were rigged is great. We desperately need to fix the problem(s) and send the culprits to jail.

But for you to say that it is not important to protect voters who *know* they've been fleeced is self-centered, boorish, and, well, racist.You said,

"it's a good idea--but ... the timing of an idea can be critically important."

Yeah I know it's never really a good time to address the concerns of African Amerricans. That's pretty much what most DEMOCRATS and many LIBERALS said to African Americans about the Voting Rights Act. It took the brutal beating and tear gassing of peaceful civilians captured live on TV in Selma, Alabama to force the hand of Congress on that one.

Meaningful reform must address BOTH the more recent problems with technology and corruption and the older racism and corruptions that have been around as long as we've had our electoral system.

A much more likely version of your scenario is that a bad VVPB-focused bill will be passed with much fanfare. America will breath a collective sigh of relief that we've "fixed" our voting system and things will go back to business as usual with our elections that have never been democratic.

VVPB-focused legislation is much more likely to make it through Congress than Jackson's bill becuase Jackson's bill is essentially an attack on the states' rights system. The states' rights system was left in place after Reconstruction to allow the states tailor racist laws and practices to their specific needs. Federalizing the right to vote means facing down problems that no one wants to admit we still have.

A lot of those election reform issues that you dismiss are ones that have made it clear that the democracy you want to help survive has never existed for some people. The way the right wingers are gunning for white members of the middle class is new. It's a necessary component of their repressive agenda. For some folks the feeling of being shut out of the system is a fresh, freightening revelation. Others have been coping with that reality as part of their status quo since day one.

[Tigress DEM]

8. You have a link on the full proposed ammendment? On Thomas maybe?

[Wilms]

18. Here's the 108th Congress version

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:H.J.RES.28:

Just add a colon to the url and enter again.

[GetTheRightVote]

13. This is good news for election reform, many fronts supporting changes

:kick:

[Kevin Spidel]

17. DOWNLOAD THE ACTIVIST KIT HERE...

http://pdamerica.org/tools/issues/VRA-Kit-draft2.pdf

[tsuki]

19. The Reverend and Mrs. Jackson raised a son to be proud of. n/t

[dalloway]

20. THANKS, Jesse!!!!! Keep on pushing! n/t

[anaxarchos]

22. Reverand Jackson (Senior) was at the Black Leadership Forum...

...organized by Tavis Smiley last week. He pointedly refered to how seriously he took the Bushies and said that whatever else we do, we must "return to the streets". He made the point that everything worth winning had once been won there. These are serious words for him... not to be taken lightly. It's important to see this ammendment in that context.

<on edit> Conyers was there too...

[berniew1]

23. So draft a good election reform package and start collecting signatures to

get election reform Initiative on the ballot in your state.