Our show on Tuesday is a preview of the Congressional Briefing and Luncheon on “How Voter Suppression is Threatening Our Democracy” scheduled for April 21 from 12:45-3:00 p.m. in room 2237 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Our special guests for this show include Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Chair of the Transformative Justice Coalition, Brenda Ford Harding; and Treasurer of the Transformative Justice Coalition, Joel Segal.
Our show will discuss the many challenges posed by new voter suppression measures either passed by the states or instituted by election officials which thousands of voters have already faced during the 2016 primary process and the upcoming threat to a fully inclusive general election on November 8, 2016 posed by these new measures.
In the heart of the 2016 presidential primary process, we have already seen the horrible effects of voter suppression in the states of North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Wisconsin and Montana! Tens of thousands of voters have been denied the right to vote by these onerous legislative measures. These measures have included strict voter photo identification laws, early voting cuts, no Sunday voting, restrictions on student voting, voter registration restrictions, polling place reductions, voter caging and more. Sadly, for thousands who voted provisionally in “correct precinct” states, these ballots will not be counted. Had the protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act been in place instead of gutted by the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in the Shelby v. Holder case, the majority of these new voter suppression laws would have been prohibited. Pursuant to the 15th Amendment, Congress has an obligation to fix this crisis.
Most affected by these restrictive laws and administrative irregularities have been voters who are low income, Native American, African American, Latino, students, transgendered and the elderly.
Moderated by renowned journalist Roland S. Martin, the Congressional Briefing will feature many Congressional leaders and nationally recognized civil rights leaders, scholars, voting rights experts, litigators and those affected by these repressive laws. Among those testifying will be North Carolina NAACP Chairman and Leader of the Moral Monday Movement, Rev. William Barber; Professor at University of California San Diego and Author of 2016 Study on “Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes”, Lindsey Nielson; President of the Transformative Justice Coalition and voting rights expert, Barbara R. Arnwine; Professor, Author, election law and election machine expert, Robert Fitrakis; and many more.
Besides discussing the problem, the Briefing will focus on measures Congress can take to address this crisis. Also, now is the time to build a more organized American Pro-Democracy Movement. Congressman Conyers and Barbara Arnwine have authored an article “We Need To Build A Voting Rights Movement”: http://www.thenation.com/article/we-need-to-build-a-voting-rights-movement/.
The Congressional Briefing is open to the public for free on a first come, first available seat basis. To RSVP to attend and for more information, be sure to visit www.electiondefense.org or contact dkraus@tjcoalition.org. This Briefing is being co-sponsored by the Transformative Justice Coalition and the National Election Defense Coalition.
Tuesday’s show will provide a good preview of the issues to be discussed at the Congressional Briefing. This will be a most informative show!
Please Spread the Word about Tuesday’s Radio Show and Thursday’s Congressional Briefing.
This week’s guests:
Justin Talbot-Zorn
Justin Talbot-Zorn has served as Legislative Director to three Members of Congress, as founder of a successful grassroots humanitarian nonprofit, and as an op-ed contributor […]
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is an influential and forceful voice in Washington. She is serving her tenth term (20 years) as a member of the […]
Brenda Harding
Brenda Ford Harding is an attorney and consultant in Durham, N.C. She works extensively in the voting rights area, specifically using different strategies to ensure […]
