Expanding the Franchise

2012 YEO Network National ConveningVoter Suppression, Corporate Personhood and Equality Issues for State Legislative Officials

June 23, 2012

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About the Progressive States Network

• Establish a multi-issue progressive narrative

• Build a national network • Connect legislators with

best practices and sound research

• Act as a source of information

• Move policy

StateMedias

Congress

State Legislatures

GrassrootsGroups

American Public

State-Based Group

National Think Tanks

PSN 2012 Blueprint for Economic Security

Convert individual state policy fights into national campaigns that reflect many of the top concerns of American families

• Create, Grow, and Save Jobs• Rebuild Prosperity in State

Economies• Protect Families from Cuts and

Attacks• Revitalize the Middle Class

Why 2013?

(take a cue from PA)

Three policies, in particular

• Anti-Deceptive Practices

• Election Day Registration

• 16- and 17-year-old voter preregistration

Pivoting on conservative messaging

• These reforms protect the sanctity of elections

• The right to vote is at the heart of what it means to be an American.

• If they can’t count on your vote, they’d rather you not be counted at all.

• No one should prevent eligible Americans from voting, or registering to vote.

Anti-Deceptive Practices: What Worked

• Minimal fiscal impact• Talk about

“misinformation tactics” and “intentional deception”

• Examples of voter intimidation from both sides of the aisle

• Seniors and veterans

Responding to Common Objections

• “Voters are protected under the current law.”

• “There aren’t enough examples of this to justify action.”

• “The penalties are too harsh. What if someone makes a simple mistake?”

Map

Election Day Registration: What Worked

• Getting buy-in from election administrators.

• Working around constitutional limitations when necessary

• Focusing on working people• Shifting the patronizing

tone of conservative objections

Responding to Common Objections

• “This is too complicated.”

• “EDR will lead to fraud.”

Youth Preregistration

Youth Preregistration: The Facts

• Had younger citizens voted at the same rate as those aged 30 and over, seven million more votes would have been cast in 2008.

• Registration rates of voters of color 18-29 lagged behind that of whites by as much as 20 percentage points (college bias, dropouts)

• Preregistered voters were 2% more likely to vote in 2008 than those who registered after turning 18. Preregistered African Americans were 5.2% more likely to vote.

• Voting in an election makes one 29% more likely to vote in the next.

Youth Preregistration: What Worked

• Implementation costs are minimal

• Pairing with a civics education component

• Emphasizing the reduction in voter registration errors through preregistration

Responding to Common Objections

• “Young people move a lot and there’s no point to getting them registered when it will just create redundant records.”

For more information – contact

Cristina Francisco-McGuire

Progressive States Network(212)-680-3116 x118

www.progressivestates.orgTwitter: CristinaPSN