Coalition Supports Bill Filed to Repeal TN Photo ID to Vote Law
October 20, 2011 by Mary Mancini
Filed under Fair Elections, Recent Blog Posts
The No Barriers to the Ballot Coalition of Tennessee, the coalition of organizations behind the state-wide petition drive to repeal the government-issued photo ID to vote mandate, will support the bill filed by Tennessee Senate and House Democrats yesterday that, if passed, will repeal the law that could disenfranchise thousands of Tennesseans.
Sign the petition online at http://www.tnca.org/petition.
The coalition supports the repeal bill because mandated government-issued photo IDs to vote disproportionately affect people of color, young voters, people over 65 and people with disabilities. Advancement Project studies show 25 percent of African Americans, 15 percent of those earning less than $35,000, 18 percent of citizens age 65 or older, and 20 percent of voters age 18 to 29 do not have government-issue photo Ids.
“No right is more fundamental than the right to vote. It is protected by more constitutional amendments – the 1st, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th and 26th – than any other right we enjoy as Americans. Tennessee’s new law requiring photo IDs undermines our democracy by impeding access to the polls and reducing the number of Tennesseans who will be able to cast their vote thereby disenfranchising many thousands of eligible voters,” said coalition member, Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the ACLU of Tennessee, “We call on the Tennessee General Assembly to repeal this un-American law.”
“There are many seniors in the Edgehill area who proudly exercise their right to vote; however, the photo identification requirement clearly places another obstacle on their path to the ballot box,” added Daynise Couch, executive director, Organized Neighbors of Edgehill.
As of today, the coalition has gathered signatures from Tennesseans representing more than 65 of the 95 counties in the state and have distributed more than 75 petition packets to individuals and organizations volunteering to circulate the petition in their communities.
“Things are really tough here in Tennessee. People are losing their jobs, they’re upside down in their mortgages, unemployment is 20 – 25% in some rural communities, even some of our state workers can’t afford to feed their families, and now with the stroke of a pen, they’re losing their right to vote”, said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, “Why do we insist on suppressing the vote of those who very often have no other way to have their voice heard in our democracy?”
The No Barriers to the Ballot Coalition of Tennessee includes ACLU of Tennessee, AFL-CIO of Tennessee, Center for Independent Living of Middle TN, Common Cause of Tennessee, Mid-south Peace and Justice Center, NAACP of Tennessee, NAACP Nashville, Nashville Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Nashville Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Inc., Organized Neighbors of Edgehill, Tennessee Citizen Action, Tennessee Mental Health Consumers Association, Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and Urban EpiCenter.
This is just superb!!
For MoveOn-Tennessee, our state-wide initiative to bring those voters who would otherwise be disenfranchised to the polls is currently under way. That this would not be required because of the Coalition’s work would be a true victory for the citizens of Tennessee. Please know that our Councils, and MoveOn-Tennessee support, encourage, and endorse this proposed legislation in the fullest ways possible. Please let me know how we can help.
M. B. “Bud” Fields, Jr. DMA
Regional Organizer-Tennessee
MoveOn.org