The mission of the Oregon Voter Rights Coalition is to restore public ownership and oversight of elections, and to ensure the fundamental right of every American citizen to vote and to have each vote counted as intended in a secure, transparent, impartial, and independently verified election process.
Tuesday's Intrepid Voters
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 11/12/2006 - 11:13pm.
Justin Levitt
November 10, 2006
Justin Levitt is an Associate Counsel in the Democracy Program of the Brennan Center for Justice. Levitt staffed an election protection hotline on Election Day responding to voter problems.
With the national direction, control of the Congress and thousands of state races and ballot questions on the line, America voted on Tuesday.
Sort of.
It will take time to know exactly how many Americans cast a ballot. Initial estimates weigh in at about 40 percent. This is consistent with turnout in past recent midterm elections. That is: In every midterm in my lifetime, more than half of the eligible Americans have not voted.
Why so little participation in our most fundamental collective act?
I spent Tuesday with a nonpartisan election protection hotline, helping voters of every conceivable stripe cast a vote. That experience only confirms my hypothesis: Exercising one of our most treasured constitutional rights has become a tutorial in frustration.
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VIDEO: “Protecting Your Vote”
