The proposal to make NC voters show a government-issued photo ID is gaining widespread condemnation by editorial boards across the state. Read these recent editorials from the major newspapers in Asheville, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Wilmington. Smaller papers in places like Ahoskie and little Washington are also covering the issue. The head of the NC Republican Party is asking his members to lobby for the bill (H-351) in a new video, but reporter Mark Binker took the time to debunk the video’s false claims about voter fraud, citing research from Democracy NC. Debate on the bill continues this week (Wednesday, 1 pm, Room 643 of the Legislative Office Building). Students at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte held a press conference yesterday to voice their concern that students at private colleges are especially harmed because only student IDs from public colleges are acceptable. The bill sponsors say they may adjust the bill so it does not discriminate against private colleges. Meanwhile, anti-immigration zealots want even tougher restrictions that would eliminate virtually all student IDs. A new version of H-351 that may or may not address these concerns is expected at Wednesday’s meeting.
Youth Vote Category
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JCSU Students To Rally March 21st
Friday, March 18th, 2011
JCSU Students Plan March 21 Rally To Voice Concerns Over Threat To Voting Rights
Rally to be held on Monday, March 21st starting at 11:00 AM on the steps of Biddle Memorial Hall on the Johnson C. Smith campus.
Student and community leaders, Johnson C. Smith President Dr. Ronald Carter and NC District 40 Senator Malcolm Graham will join JCSU students at a March 21 rally to voice concerns over the voting problems many NC citizens will face should House Bill 351/Senate Bill 352 pass requiring NC voters to present a current government-issued photo ID each time they vote. Since students tend to move frequently, some rally participants are afraid the new requirements will affect their ability to vote. Others are concerned because the data shows that seniors, women, college students, low income people and people of color are all less likely to have government-issued photo ID, will be disproportionately affected by the bill and will find it harder, if not impossible, to vote compared to citizens with current driver’s licenses.
For more information on the rally, please contact Democracy North Carolina organizer Robert Dawkins at (704) 957-3105.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Is there a national effort to make voting harder for young people? The head of Generation18 provides an overview of the issue and the anti-voter efforts across the country, as well as a plea for deeper civics education in our schools. Closer to home, Charlotte WBTV has a cover story on how the issue is playing out in North Carolina, with the catchy title, “The War on Voting?”
Active Voters Without A Photo ID:
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
For additional information, contact Bob Hall, Democracy North Carolina, 919-489-1931
Data Highlight: Who Are the Active Voters Without A Photo ID?
Who are the voters most likely to face barriers by a proposal to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID each time they vote?
In early February, the State Board of Elections matched its database of 6.1 million registered voters with records at the Division of Motor Vehicles and learned that 1 million voters did not have a NC driver’s license or identification card with a matching name and address – a current, valid NC photo ID.
Now, additional research by the State Board of Elections shows that out of the 1 million voters:
● 114,000 matched except for a variation in name (e.g., women who changed their last name).
● 334,000 had other types of mismatching information but some indication they had an ID
That leaves 554,000 registered voters with no indication that a match exists:
● 95,000 of the 554,000 are classified as Inactive registered voters who have not voted for several years.
● 460,500 are Active registered voters with no indication of a NC current and valid ID.
Out of the 6.1 million registered voters, 5.6 million are classified as Active.
Democracy North Carolina has compared the demographic profile of the 460,500 Active voters who lack a state-issued ID with the 5.6 million statewide. The chart below provides the results of that analysis.
For example, while Blacks make up 22% of all Active voters, they are 32% of all Active voters without an ID. That means if you’re a Black Active voter, you’re 48% more likely to not have a current photo ID than other Active voters.
Seniors over 65 are 20% of Active voters but 32% of those with no ID. That means Seniors are 64% more likely to not have a current photo ID than other voters.
Women and Democrats are also significantly more likely to not have a current ID than men and Republicans.
Chart is also at: http://www.democracy-nc.org/downloads/VoterIDDataByRaceSexAgePartySumm.doc
|
COMPARING AMONG |
||||||
|
# |
# No |
% No |
% |
% No |
Increased |
|
|
STATE |
5,618,530 |
460,538 |
8.2% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
White |
4,113,656 |
276,006 |
6.7% |
73.2% |
59.9% |
|
|
Black |
1,210,707 |
147,104 |
12.2% |
21.5% |
31.9% |
48% |
|
Hispanic, |
272,236 |
27,588 |
10.1% |
4.8% |
6.0% |
24% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Age |
592,803 |
48,331 |
8.2% |
10.6% |
10.5% |
|
|
Age |
1,350,860 |
100,437 |
7.4% |
24.0% |
21.8% |
|
|
Age |
2,499,478 |
162,772 |
6.5% |
44.5% |
35.3% |
|
|
Age |
1,108,107 |
148,988 |
13.4% |
19.7% |
32.4% |
64% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Men |
2,531,811 |
162,640 |
6.4% |
45.1% |
35.3% |
|
|
Women |
3,037,121 |
290,521 |
9.6% |
54.1% |
63.1% |
17% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Republicans |
1,784,608 |
111,665 |
6.3% |
31.8% |
24.2% |
|
|
Democrats |
2,513,385 |
266,269 |
10.6% |
44.7% |
57.8% |
29% |
|
Unaffiliated |
1,310,602 |
82,140 |
6.3% |
23.3% |
17.8% |
|
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, January 7th, 2011
A new edition of Democracy NC’s brochure featuring quotes and photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is now available. It includes information about the upcoming H K on J assembly in Raleigh, the redistricting process affecting local and state political districts, the controversial proposal to require a photo ID for voting, and Dr. King’s challenge to keep advocating for positive change. It’s ideal for distributing at King Day and Black History Month events and to local churches and community groups in your area. The pocket-size brochures are provided free. (The brochure folds in half, so part that you view is upside down!) If you want a supply, please send an email with your STREET address for UPS shipment, the quantity you desire, and a phone number in case there is a problem with delivery. Send the info to sprc@mindspring.com.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 30th, 2010
For better or worse, a gaggle of “firsts” this year will have a lasting impact on North Carolina politics. Here’s the Top 10 list from Democracy North Carolina. Happy New Year!!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
Who voted in the 2010 election in North Carolina? A county-by-county profile of who voted – by race, sex, age and party – shows that turnout among registered Republicans in North Carolina increased by 11 percentage points over 2006, the last mid-term election, but by only 5 points for Democrats. But the Democrats can’t blame their black supporters for this weak performance: turnout among African-American voters increased by 11 percentage points over 2006, compared to a 7 point gain for all white voters. Read the Democracy North Carolina overview and the four pages of details for the 81 counties that have so far reported the demographic details of their voters.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
In a state where half the registered voters typically do not vote, relatively small swings in the activism of sub-groups of voters can have a big impact. In 2008, the exceptional turnout among African-American women and youth led the way to sweeping victories for Tar Heel Democrats. In 2010, Republican enthusiasm and disinterest among youth are two factors influencing the election results in North Carolina – along the multi-millions spent to reinforce both trends. By the time provisional ballots are counted, turnout in North Carolina will hit 44% (2.7 million out of the state’s 6.2 million registered voters). In 2008, turnout among registered voters hit a modern record of 70%. Put another way, more than one million voters who participated in 2008 sat out the 2010 election. A new report, cosponsored by Democracy NC, uses Census data to analyze the weak shape of civic engagement in North Carolina; that weakness reflects a deep history of enforced disenfranchisement and servitude, compounded by a new ethos of stressful selfishness. The report describes the poor performance of young voters. Our own analysis shows that voters age 18 through 25 were 10% of the Early Voters in 2008 but less than 4% of the Early Voters this year; i.e., their vote share was cut by more than half. No other sector dropped their vote share by such a large percent. (We won’t know the demographic make-up of the total vote for a many weeks.)
Friday, October 15, 2010
Sunday, October 17th, 2010
(Posting delayed due to dead computer.) With Early Voting off to a roaring start, here’s a link to an all-purpose resource for North Carolina elections that we encourage others to post on their sites: http://www.NCElectionConnection.com/. It connects you to your Early Voting sites, a view of your sample ballot, the location of your precinct polling place on Election Day, and profiles of local, state and federal candidates for your area; plus it answers questions about what to do if you’ve move recently, if you want to vote by mail, if you haven’t registered yet, if you’re a college student far from home, etc. Speaking of college students, here’s a nifty 30-second PSA/YouTube video that a group of Charlotte students working with Democracy North Carolina prepared to encourage voting among their peers.
Hang the Net! …Winston-Salem
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Jim Caldwell, Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, at the "Hang the Net" event with Ray Robinson (at left) and Sean Maxwell.
This week was all about some Youth Voter Pledge cards. We hit the ground running on Monday and Tuesday by going to local recreation centers and talking to kids about voting. We were looking especially for high school students but when the “big kids” started signing the cards all the little ones wanted to do it too. So yeah, we ended up with a few voter pledge cards from some 12 year olds, but hey… can’t start early enough!
We had a one-on-one meeting this week with Mr. Tim Grant, director of Winston-Salem Parks and Recreation. He was very helpful and identified several upcoming opportunities for us to get into contact with lots of youth. He showed us all around the office, introduced us to everyone, and even referred us to a city-sponsored Youth Council that might be a good “focus group” for future youth-oriented Dem NC endeavors.
One of the events Mr. Grant told us about was the annual “Hang the Net” competition at Hanes Hoisery recreation center. The event featured Wake Forest basketball players, local street ball legends, Cameron Kent from WXII 12 News, and Coach Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts (see picture above). The event featured a three point shooting contest and slam dunk contest. We were able to set up a booth in the lobby and, with everyone lured nearby thanks to the free Frosty coupons, sign dozens of pledge cards to reach our goal.
This week also saw plenty of VAN phonebank action, as well as some short trips to Greensboro campuses to plan for fall GOTV. At North Carolina A&T University we met with Mrs. Nastasha Johnson at the Bluford Library, who then connected us into all the right people for our August plan to perform voter registration at the A&T Welcome Week.
I’m going to have to cut this blog post a little short since we have to get outta the office and back to Greensboro. We are doing some flier distribution today for next week’s Community Movie Night event with Mr. Darryl Hunt. We also hope to stop by the Beloved Community Center and liaison with Rev. Nelson Johnson, who is planning some GOTV efforts. We think there is a good opportunity for some collaboration.
We hope everyone is having a great week!
-Sean Maxwell and Ray Robinson
GOTV and Youth Engagement, Winston-Salem Team
Friday, July 16th, 2010
Winston Lake YMCA Middle Schoolers
Another busy week has flown by, and it’s incredible that there are only two weeks remaining in our Democracy Summer experience. We had some great events occur this week which will go a long way to help our strategies for increased voter participation, youth civic engagement, and electoral reforms.
On Monday we traveled a few minutes down the road to the Winston Lake YMCA to speak with middle school kids who were participating in a Model U.N. club (picture above). We decided to employ a debate format that they already knew very well in order to get them thinking about youth participation in civic affairs. The students had plenty to say about problems in their schools and neighborhoods, they just needed someone to ask their opinion! We told them about the structure of the Forsyth County Board of Education and encouraged them to pay attention to local politics, current events, and to always stand up and voice their concerns. After this mini-workshop, Ray and I were destroyed in a quick pickup basketball game between us and two of the students. Our height advantage meant nothing and they seriously asked us if we were actually trying… embarrassing indeed!
Tuesday was probably the most eventful day of all this week. Ray and I had an informal interview with Jordan Green of YES!Weekly magazine, a publication in Greensboro that covers local events and politics. Mr. Green then came to our Guilford County GOTV meeting that evening. We had probably around 15 to 20 people show up to discuss ways to increase voter participation. It was a diverse group, from a rising 10th grader to a woman in her 80s. Everyone agreed that focusing on registration in turnout in the month right before an election was too little too late. The meeting generated lots of good feedback and some additional contacts in Greensboro to assist in Democracy NC’s mission. We will likely return to Guilford County to meet with some of the attendees who requested some GOTV and registration training.
Wednesday featured an extremely productive meeting with Dr. David Mount of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. He is Director of Community Outreach for the center, and told us about his strategies for connecting to other organizations and coalition building. He also gave us permission to come to various free community health fairs that are held around the county. At these events, residents in low-income neighborhoods can get free treatment and testing for illnesses and disease. He agreed that having information on civic engagement and voting rights would be helpful and that many facets of their mission overlap with Democracy NC’s goals too. Later that afternoon we met with Mr. T.C. Muhammad in Greensboro, who is involved in GOTV efforts and the Hip Hop Caucus. He gave us numerous contacts in the Guilford County area as well as some avenues to check out at NC A&T University. Hopefully Dem NC can team up with Mr. Muhammad in the fall for some major GOTV campaigns.
Thursday involved a return to the Winston Lake YMCA for a talk with some high school students. It followed a similar format as our Monday meeting, but obviously the discussion was a little more nuanced and we could register them to vote! They also signed some of our Youth pledge cards. It was amazing listening to their stories, particularly one student who was not only captain of his football team, but also worked nearly full-time at Sonic to pay for his own food and car insurance as well as take care of his younger cousins. The responsibility he was shouldering was inspiring and at the same time made our efforts to get their voices heard feel much more meaningful.
On top of all these experiences we have been phonebanking and planning for a voter registration and youth pledge card drive. And tomorrow we are attending the Stone Soul Picnic in Burlington. It’s been a busy week but it has felt good!
Until next time,
Sean Maxwell (and Ray Robinson)
Dreams vs. Reality
Monday, June 21st, 2010
You can dream, but make sure there’s a reality to the vision you seek. Understand that there will be obstacles. There will be setbacks. And if you let it, the world will hold you back. But if you allow yourself to see the reality of it all AND THEN allow yourself to dream, you can achieve anything you can want. Anything.
It’s crazy how much you can be aware of something, but there comes certain times where life reinforces what you already know to make sure that you never forget it. And I can honestly say that this is what my internship with Democracy NC is doing.
Alannah, Robert, and I have been attending meetings, board breakfasts, and Board Meetings. We’ve even presented at one. We’ve got commitments from 5 Board of Directors with the Apartment association to let us come into their communities in the fall and encourage their residents to vote, provide them with Voter Guides, and offer them rides to the polls. Alannah and I had seven minutes to make our spill. And not being biased or anything, but Alannah and I did our thing. Especially with what we were up against. We had a rough day, especially poor Robert. But we made it through. Things are going really well, but it’s certainly been a learning experience.
We’re still working like crazy to put together our SGA event in July. It’s NO WHERE near easy, but it’ll be worth it. Therefore, we’re still pushing.
Phone banking is getting easier. I’m starting not to mind it. It’s interesting how differently everyone acts. It’s definitely entertaining. Even more entertaining is the calorie counting of Alannah and Robert. Every morning this is how we start our day. After every lunch, this is how we come back together. Before we start phone banking after our evening snack, we calorie count. I wish you guys could hear them.
Tomorrow is Voter-Owned Elections’ Lobby Day. We’re leaving from Charlotte at 6:30am. This should be a fun trip. I’m hoping to learn a lot since I’ve never been.
I’ll fill you in how it goes next blog. But until then…
Much love, peace, & happiness <3
Erica
