Dear Senator Obama and Representative Emanuel,
We write to thank
you for your leadership efforts to strengthen the integrity of our
nation’s elections with the introduction of the Deceptive Practices and
Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 453/H.R. 1281).
In
the 2006 congressional elections, voters in cities and districts across
the country found themselves the targets of campaigns to actively
prevent their participation in the election. Practices such as
packaging misinformation about the date, time and place of the election
or manufacturing threats to intimidate vulnerable populations have no
place in our democracy.
While we need policies which promote
participation by easing voter registration, creating early voting
opportunities and other changes, we must not tolerate practices that
serve only to discourage participation and prevent eligible voters from
engaging in the political process.
Voters in approximately 30
states were the victims of efforts to deter them from going to the
polls. It is a serious and growing problem that unscrupulous political
operatives seek to gain advantage by actively working to suppress voter
turnout.
U.S. PIRG has had a long and successful involvement
in numerous efforts to engage voters and improve access to the polls.
The PIRG’s New Voters Project has registered more than 500,000 young
people in the last two election cycles. We undertook this project
because we believe that participation is a cornerstone of our
democracy. Targeted efforts to dissuade voter engagement are anathema
to our nation’s most fundamental principles.
The nation’s
history is one of extending the franchise and opening the doors to
participation to more Americans. S. 453/H.R. 1281 continues in that
tradition. We welcome the legislation and look forward to working with
you to see it enacted into law.
Sincerely,
Gary Kalman
Democracy Advocate
