Expanding Voting Rights in Cities and Counties
For briefing documents, visit www.tinyurl.com/VotingRightsDocuments.
Please send questions or comments to jduffy@populardemocracy.org.
Mayor Pro Tem Faith Winter
(Westminster, CA)
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Landlord-Tenant Voter
Registration
• An ordinance that
requires all landlords in
the local jurisdiction to
provide to all new
tenants a copy of the
voter registration
application.
• *Young Elected
Officials Network
developed this policy.
Why this matters
• Populations that live
in rental units tend to
be more transient,
more diverse and this
is a way to help voter
turnout in those
populations.
• Solution is simple and
low cost.
• Hard part is
implementing the
fines for lack of
compliance.
In Westminster, CO:
• 37% of residents live in
renal housing
• Half of people of
color live in rental
housing.
Implemented in Madison (WI),
East Lansing (MI), Berkley (CA).
Articles
• Madison landlords say they won't provide tenants voter registration forms despite
proposed city mandate
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=37268
• Requiring a Landlord to pass out Voter Registration Form with Rental Agreement
gets voter suppression columnists Veto.
http://democurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2012/07/requiring-landlord-to-pass-out-voter.html
• Madison landlords required to supply voter registration forms
http://www.wrn.com/2012/07/madison-landlords-required-to-supply-voter-registrationforms/
• Madison Landlords Must Provide Voter Registration Forms To Renters
http://dekerivers.wordpress.com/2012/07/19/madison-landlords-must-provide-voterregistration-forms-to-renters/
• Landlords Ordered to Supply Tenants with Voter Registration Forms
http://www.american-apartment-owners-association.org/blog/2013/02/06/landlords-facejail-under-new-voter-law/
• Landlords now required to provide voter registration info
• http://statenews.com/article/2013/02/landlords-now-required-to-provide-voter-registrationinfo
NYC CAMPAIGN FINANCE PROGRAM
• Engage average New Yorkers.
• Reduce corruption.
• Provide opportunity to seek office.
• Require thorough and timely disclosure.
CFB COVERED OFFICES
Mayor
Public Advocate
Comptroller
Borough President
City Council
CONTRIBUTORS
ACCEPTABLE
PROHIBITED
Individuals
Corporate entities
(Corp., Co., Inc., LLC, & PC)
Political Committees
Partnerships & LLPs
Unions
Anonymous
CONTRIBUTION LIMITS
Mayor,
Public Advocate
& Comptroller
Borough
President
City Council
$4,950
$3,850
$2,750
“DOING BUSINESS” LIMITS
Mayor,
Public Advocate
& Comptroller
Borough
President
City
Council
$400
$320
$250
INTERMEDIARIES
• “Bundlers”
• An individual or entity who either delivers or
solicits contributions on behalf of a campaign.
Public Matching Funds
• Match is $6-to-$1 for
NYC residents
• Encourages candidates
to engage constituents.
• Amplifies voice of
low-dollar contributors.
Impact of Public Matching Funds
THRESHOLDS FOR MATCHING FUNDS
Mayor
Public
Advocate
& Comptroller
Borough
President
City
Council
Minimum
Funds Raised
$250,000
$125,000
$10,000$50,094
$5,000
No. of
Contributors
1,000
500
100
75
(in borough)
(in district)
EXPENDITURE LIMITS
Mayor
Public
Advocate
& Comptroller
Borough
President
City
Council
Prior to 2013
$303,000
$303,000
$135,000
$45,000
2013 Primary
$6,426,000
$4,018,000
$1,446,000
$168,000
2013 General
$6,426,000
$4,018,000
$1,446,000
$168,000
2013 DISCLOSURE DEADLINES
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
M
JANUARY
T
W
T
F
S
S
M
T
FEBRUARY
W
T
F
S
S
M
T
MARCH
W
T
F
S
APRIL
15
15
MAY
JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
9
15
15
27
SEPTEMBER
1
2
3
8
9
10
4
5
OCTOBER
6
7
NOVEMBER
4
20
27
28
22
23
24
29
30
31
25
26
4
5
29
DECEMBER
1
3
28
2
2
30
31
INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE
DISCLOSURE
• $1,000 or more, disclose spending.
• $5,000 or more, disclose contributors.
Questions?
(212) 306-7100
press@nyccfb.info
@NYCCFB
Thank you!
State Senator Jamie Raskin
(Montgomery Co., MD)
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141 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1391
University of Pennsylvania Law Review
April, 1993
LEGAL ALIENS, LOCAL CITIZENS: THE HISTORICAL, CONSTITUTIONAL
AND
THEORETICAL MEANINGS OF ALIEN SUFFRAGE
Jamin B. Raskin
Copyright (c) 1993 by the University of Pennsylvania; Jamin B. Raskin
Citizen: 1a: an inhabitant of a city or town
2a: a member of a state
There is no more invariable rule in the history of society: The further
electoral rights are extended, the greater is the need for extending
them: for after each concession the strength of democracy
increases, and its demands increase with its strength.
Supreme Court Permission for Non-Citizen Voting
“Besides this, citizenship has not in all cases been made a condition precedent to
the enjoyment of the right of suffrage. Thus, in Missouri, persons of foreign birth,
who have declared their intention to become citizens of the United States, may
under certain circumstances vote. The same provision is to be found in the
constitutions of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota,
and Texas.“
Chief Justice Waite, Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. (21 Wall.) 162, 177 (1874)
“The State might provide that persons of foreign birth could vote without being
naturalized, and, as stated by Mr. Chief Justice Waite in Minor v. Happersett, such
persons were allowed to vote in several of the States upon having declared their
intentions to become citizens of the United States.”
Justice Peckham, Pope v. Williams, 193 U.S. 621, 632-633 (1904)
As recently as 1973, the Supreme Court has remarked that “citizenship is a
permissible criterion” for limiting voting rights, and thus, implicitly, not a
compulsory one.
Sugarman v. Dougall, 413 U.S. 634, 649 (1973) (striking down, on equal protection
grounds, a complete ban on aliens working in the New York Civil Service)
(emphasis added).
U.S. Constitution
Article I, Section 2
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members
chosen every second Year by the People of the several
States, and the Electors in each State shall have the
Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous
Branch of the State Legislature.
No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have
attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been seven
Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when
elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be
chosen.
Stewart v. Foster, 2 Binn. 110, 122 (Pa. 1809).
“The being an inhabitant, and the paying tax, are circumstances
which give an interest in the borough. The being an inhabitant,
gives an interest in the police or regulations of the borough
generally; the paying tax gives an interest in the appropriation of
the money levied. A right, therefore, to a voice mediately or
immediately in these matters, is founded in natural justice. To reject
this voice, or even to restrain it unnecessarily, would be wrong. It
would be as unjust as it would be impolitic. It is the wise policy of
every community to collect support from all on whom it may be
reasonable to impose it; and it is but reasonable that all on whom it
is imposed should have a voice to some extent in the mode and
object of the application.”
Justice Blackenridge, Stewart v. Foster, 2 Binn. 110, 122 (Pa. 1809).
Blackenridge went on to draw a line between the exclusion of aliens from
holding public office and the exclusion of aliens from voting: “Reasons of
policy may warrant the restraining the eligibility to office, but it must be a
strong case of the salus populi indeed, that will warrant the restraining,
much less excluding, the right of electing to office.” Id.
Councilmember Tim Male
(Takoma Park, MD)
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0.08
0.06
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0.02
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and
over
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15 to 20 to 25 to 30 to 35 to 40 to 45 to 50 to 55 to 60 to 65 to 70 to 75 to 80 to 85
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and
over
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
18-34
35-50
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
Municipal
Midterm
President
16 and up voting
No registration barrier
Felony convictions
Apartment buildings
Task force
Timothy Male, City Council Takoma Park
(240) 274-0341
timothymale@gmail.com
timm@takomagov.org
Expanding Voting Rights
at the Local Level
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Voter Registration
• More than 1 in 4 eligible Americans not
registered
• Up to 3 million Americans could not vote in 2008
because of registration problems
• 3.5 million experienced registration problems at
polls in 2012
• 1 in 8 registration records is invalid or has serious
errors
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Current System: Big Drain on County Budgets
2010
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
2010
Voter Registration Modernization
• Electronic, paperless registration at government
agencies
• Portability
• Online registration
• Failsafe Election Day procedures
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Benefits of Voter Registration Modernization
• 50 million eligible citizens added to rolls
• Increased registration rates: 2-fold to 7-fold
• More accurate rolls: 5X fewer errors
• Millions in savings to the states
• Less wrongful disenfranchisement
• Fewer complaints of potential fraud
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Case study: Maricopa County, Arizona
Over $450,000 in savings in 2008
Cost to manually process paper registration form:
$ 0.83
Cost to manually process an electronic registration:
$ 0.33
Cost to process electronic registration with partially
automated review:
$ 0.03
Time for manual data-entry
saved by paperless registration:
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
20,000 hours (10 FTEs)
Reduced Errors in Maricopa County
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Early Voting
•
•
•
•
Voter convenience and satisfaction
Improved election administration
Reduced lines
Expanded access
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Ballot and Form Design
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Voting Rights Act
Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Legislation to Expand Access to Voting in 2013
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
Brennan Center for Justice
www.brennancenter.org
wendy.weiser@nyu.edu
Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
For more information go to:
www.localprogress.org
and/or email Katrina Gamble at
katrina@commongoodcenter.org
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