Barack Obama & Chuck Schumer Work for Fair Elections

From the National Campaign for Fair Elections: Forty years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Americans across the country continue to be targets of deceptive practices and intimidation as they attempt to cast a ballot. Over the past two election cycles, Election Protection has documented attempts to influence voters through dirty tricks from across the country. Voters deserve better. And now you have an opportunity to do something about it.

Today, Senators Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer, responding to the evidence provided by the National Campaign, introduced comprehensive legislation to provide real solutions to the deception and fraud Americans face when they attempt to vote. Act now to urge your Senators to co-sponsor The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007.

Voter harassment and intimidation is not a thing of the past. Since 2004, Election Protection collected reports of deceptive practices or voter intimidation from more than 30 states. Over the past four years, voters had to endure:

• fliers distributed in Milwaukee telling voters they can't vote if they didn't pay their parking tickets;
• reports of armed gunmen intimidating, mocking and misinforming voters at heavily Latino precincts in Arizona;
• deceptive flyers in Maryland misleading voters about the party affiliation of candidates for key state wide officials;
• phone calls telling voters they were no longer eligible to vote; and
• emails sent to voters in Virginia providing false information about where to vote.

These attempts deliberately mislead or intimidate voters in an effort to alter the outcome of an election, undermining the right to vote for countless Americans across the country. But, surprisingly, intentionally misleading voters is not against the law.

American voters need the Senate to pass Senator Obama's bill so we can put a stop to these despicable practices.

The National Campaign worked closely with Senator Obama to create effective solutions to the problems we witnessed as the lead legal partner in Election Protection. The bill introduced today includes provisions that address many of the new tactics reported to Election Protection during the 2006 elections.

The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act:

• provides comprehensive definitions of what constitutes a deceptive practice;
• criminalizes such practices and states appropriate penalties;
• outlines an innovative system to help disseminate correct information to voters who have been victims of these practices;
• creates a reporting structure for incidents that will help citizens to address grievances; and
• calls on the Department of Justice to work with leading civil rights and voter protection organizations, other Federal agencies, and state officials to develop the most effective way to address this problem.

Help make elections more open, fair, and honest by supporting the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act today.