President Obama announced an election reform commission during the State of the Union.
When any Americans – no matter where they live or what their party – are denied that right simply because they can’t wait for five, six, seven hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. That’s why, tonight, I’m announcing a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. And I’m asking two long-time experts in the field, who’ve recently served as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign, to lead it.
Some, including the League of Women Voters, think this is just kicking the can down the road. What do you think?
It looks like President Obama will give yet another shout out to election reform in the State of the Union tonight.
Reports say that Michelle Obama has invited Desiline Victor, a 102-year-old resident of North Miami who waited in line for hours to vote, to sit in her box during the speech.
ICYMI: Election reformers, good news. FLOTUS hosting 102-yr-old who waited 3 hours to vote at SOTU huff.to/12rLSy3via @huffpostmiami
What will the President say? And will Congress act? Watch this HuffPost Live segment to see what experts from the Brennan Center, Lawyers Committee and The Nation think.
The Brennan Center For Justice At NYU released a new study, How To Fix Long Lines, and we’re thrilled to see weekend voting is one of the solutions they’re advocating:
Evidence shows that early voting increases as Election Day nears — the weekend before Election Day has particularly high turnout. Mandating the availability of weekend voting, as well as both standard business and non-business hours during the week, frees citizens from making a choice between work and voting.
As we walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7th, 1965, we knew that the road ahead was long and dangerous, as change never comes easy. But march on we did, knowing deep in our hearts that one day the murders of Jimmy Lee Jackson, James Reed, and Viola Liuzzo, and the bombing of churches would stir the conscience of our fellow Americans. As Martin often preached, the clarion call for justice must inevitably end the silence of good people; and only then will the promise President Lincoln made in 1863 to right the wrongs of slavery become “a promise kept.”
As foot soldiers in a non-violent crusade, there was one battleground on which we knew we could win the war of bigotry, the one place where all American citizens were equal: the voting booth. As Martin said as we marched to Montgomery, “The longest step for society is that short sweet step to the ballot box.”
Miraculously, 8 days later, President Johnson stood before a Joint Session of Congress and answered Martin’s prayers. Noting that a 100 years was already too long to wait, he vowed to enforce President Lincoln’s promise of one man one vote: “Their cause must be our cause too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome.” It was the only time I ever saw Martin weep.
We won the battle, but 50 years later we are losing the war. Voter participation in America ranks 138th of the 172 democracies throughout the world. Too many Americans can’t get registered or are being turned away at the polls; too many have forgotten the battle we fought for and don’t take advantage of that precious right. Our voting system is broken and everyone knows it. Now is the time to FIX IT once and for all.
So, President Obama, as you place your hand upon the bibles of both Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr., I pray that you will be inspired by the courage and conviction of these two great men who paid the ultimate price for the right to vote. I pray that you will listen carefully to the words of Lyndon B. Johnson which still echo throughout the Capitol, and be inspired by that courageous Southerner who sacrificed his political life for the sake of a greater good. I pray that you will feel the strength of Martin’s voice as he stood at the Lincoln Memorial urging our nation to make good on a 100 year old “unfulfilled promise.”
It is altogether fitting that as we celebrate Martin’s birthday, you will be standing exactly where President Lincoln and Johnson were sworn into office. Indeed, you will be the first president to take the oath under Martin’s watchful gaze from the new MLK Memorial.
So may God be with you Mr. President and Mrs. Obama as you continue to fulfill my dear friend Martin’s dream, a dream he shared with two of the greatest presidents in history, a dream that must be made an enduring reality once and for all.
Why Tuesday? is a non-partisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2005 to find solutions to increase voter turnout and participation in elections... More
The Answer
In 1845, before Florida, California, and Texas were states or slavery had been abolished, Congress needed to pick a time for Americans to vote... More
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