Expanding the Franchise

1. Expanding the Franchise 2012 YEO Network National Convening Voter Suppression, Corporate Personhood and Equality Issues for State Legislative OfficialsJune 23, 2012

2. National Think Tanks State Legislatures Congress State-Based Group GrassrootsGroups StateMedias American Public About the Progressive States Network • Establish a multi-issue progressive narrative • Build a national network • Connect legislators with best practices and sound research • Act as a source of information • Move policy

3. PSN 2012 Blueprint for Economic Security Convert individual state policy fights into national campaigns that reflect many of the top concerns of American families • Create, Grow, and Save Jobs • Rebuild Prosperity in State Economies • Protect Families from Cuts and Attacks • Revitalize the Middle Class

4. Why 2013?(take a cue from PA)

5. Three policies, in particular • Anti-Deceptive Practices • Election Day Registration • 16- and 17-year-old voter preregistration

6. Pivoting on conservative messaging • These reforms protect the sanctity of elections • The right to vote is at the heart of what it means to be an American. • If they can’t count on your vote, they’d rather you not be counted at all. • No one should prevent eligible Americans from voting, or registering to vote.

7. Anti-Deceptive Practices: What Worked • Minimal fiscal impact • Talk about “misinformation tactics” and “intentional deception” • Examples of voter intimidation from both sides of the aisle • Seniors and veterans

8. Responding to Common Objections • “Voters are protected under the current law.” • “There aren’t enough examples of this to justify action.” • “The penalties are too harsh. What if someone makes a simple mistake?”

9. Map

10. Election Day Registration: What Worked • Getting buy-in from election administrators. • Working around constitutional limitations when necessary • Focusing on working people • Shifting the patronizing tone of conservative objections

11. Responding to Common Objections • “This is too complicated.” • “EDR will lead to fraud.”

12. Youth Preregistration

13. Youth Preregistration: The Facts • Had younger citizens voted at the same rate as those aged 30 and over, seven million more votes would have been cast in 2008. • Registration rates of voters of color 18-29 lagged behind that of whites by as much as 20 percentage points (college bias, dropouts) • Preregistered voters were 2% more likely to vote in 2008 than those who registered after turning 18. Preregistered African Americans were 5.2% more likely to vote. • Voting in an election makes one 29% more likely to vote in the next.

14. Youth Preregistration: What Worked • Implementation costs are minimal • Pairing with a civics education component • Emphasizing the reduction in voter registration errors through preregistration

15. Responding to Common Objections • “Young people move a lot and there’s no point to getting them registered when it will just create redundant records.”

16. For more information – contact Cristina Francisco-McGuire Progressive States Network (212)-680-3116 x118 www.progressivestates.org Twitter: CristinaPSN