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Democratizing Elections

Democratizing Elections. US SOCIETY SPRING ‘09. Outline. Planting the Standard of Democracy. Voter Disenfranchisement Voter Suppression Voter–Owned Elections Instant Runoff Voting. Voter Disenfranchisement. Philip Green, KarenRose Anderson, Tom Stephens. Outline.

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Democratizing Elections

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  1. Democratizing Elections US SOCIETY SPRING ‘09

  2. Outline Planting the Standard of Democracy Voter Disenfranchisement Voter Suppression Voter–Owned Elections Instant Runoff Voting

  3. Voter Disenfranchisement Philip Green, KarenRose Anderson, Tom Stephens

  4. Outline • Voter Fraud Protection • Mail In Ballots • Felon Disenfranchisement

  5. Voter Fraud Protection **Required Photo ID** Goal: prevention of individual cases of fraud Problem: Not all citizens or registered voters have valid photo ID (largely affects minorities and women)

  6. Mail In Ballots **Not available in many U.S. states** Goal: Avoids possible voter fraud Problem: Many people unable to get to polls due to disability, distance, busy schedules etc; therefore lower voter turn out.

  7. Historic significance of voting rights in the U.S. Upon founding, only white land owning men had the right to vote 1868 - 14th Amendment grants African Americans the legal right to vote 1920 - 16th Amendment grants women the right to vote

  8. Historic Significance of Voting rights in the U.S. 1964 - Civil Rights Act bans the suppression African Americans voters 1971 - Congress lowers voting age to 18 Today - Over 5 million people in the US remain banned from exercising their right to vote

  9. Felon Disenfranchisement Voting restrictions placed on citizens convicted of a felony 48 States prohibit inmates from voting while incarcerated for a felony 30 States exclude felons on parole/probation from voting Kentucky & Virginia deny the right to vote to ex-felons permanently

  10. Who is Affected? 5.3 Million Americans (1 in every 41 adults) have currently or permanently lost the right to vote as result of felony conviction 2.1 Million are ex-offenders that have completed their sentences

  11. Election Outcomes “Although the outcome of the extraordinarily close 2000 presidential election could have been altered by a large number of factors, it would almost certainly have been reversed had voting rights been extended to any category of disenfranchised felons… Had disenfranchised felons been permitted to vote, we estimate that Gore’s [national] margin of victory in the popular vote would have surpassed one million votes … Regardless of popular vote, however, one state –Florida– held the balance of power. If disenfranchised felons in Florida had been permitted to vote, Democrat Al Gore would certainly have carried the state and the election.”

  12. Minorities • Disproportionate number of minority adults disenfranchised due to conviction of a felony African Americans: • Make up 38% of disenfranchised adults but 13.4% of U.S. population • 13% of African Americans are disenfranchised; (7 times the national average) Latino Americans: • Make up 16% of disenfranchised adults but 13% of U.S. Population

  13. Felon Re-Enfranchisement Promotes rehabilitation & civic integration for those convicted of felonies Gives a voice to those disproportionately disadvantaged by felony convictions (namely minorities & low income communities)

  14. Efforts Toward Re-Enfranchisement Educating ex-felons about voting rights & process for regaining right to vote Grassroots re-enfranchisement projects: --www.projectvote.org --www.sentencingproject.org

  15. Voter Suppression Katlin Pointer & Ronnie Balog-Ressler

  16. Outline • Distribution of Election Resources • Barriers to Third Party Registration • Challenging Voters at the Polls • Voter Intimidation • Purging Voters • Election Day Registration

  17. Voter Suppression • Distribution of Election Resources • Problems at voting polls in minority and urban precincts • Discourages voters due to not enough voting machines • Poorly Trained and disorganized poll workers Voter suppression video

  18. Voter Suppression • Third Party Registration Restrictions • Preserving political successes • Regulation of third party activities • Concerns of voter fraud

  19. Voter Suppression • Challenging voters at the polls • Intimidation • Police presence at polling places • Voters improperly asked for photo ID and/or proof of citizenship • Exclusion of 20 million Americans who lack photo identification

  20. Voter Suppression • Voter intimidation • Deceptive flyers • Misleading and/or harassing phone calls • Forced to declare aloud their party affiliation

  21. Voter Suppression Voter caging Purging or challenge voters’ registration Undeliverable mail compiled into "challenge lists" of unverifiable addresses and can be used to challenge voters' eligibility

  22. Voter Suppression State voter challenge laws Challenge the right of other citizens to vote Post-Reconstructive Era Employed restrictive residency requirements, periodic registration, poll taxes, and literacy or understanding requirements.

  23. Voter Suppression • Election Day Registration • Supporters • Increased voter turnout • Decreased Voter’s confusion • Human Nature of Procrastination • Opponents • Time/financial cost • Increase in Fraud

  24. Public Campaign Financing and Portland’s“Voter-owned Elections” System Mary Heil & Virginia Rumfelt

  25. Outline Old ways of doing things New election system How VOE works Oregon Is it still a broken system?

  26. The conundrum http://www.voterownedhawaii.org/roadvideo.php

  27. In theory Candidates that demonstrate broad community support may choose to receive all the funding they will need to finance a campaign. People from increasingly historically underrepresented would be able to run and, therefore, a more diverse population is represented.

  28. How does V-OE work?

  29. Along with a handful of other US States, Portland is the first US city to attempt the VOE model Online voting Oregon to join interstate compact to modify the Electoral College

  30. Success debatable • Until now, Money Has Limited Democracy: • Roughly 90% of elections in PDX had been won by the candidate with the most bucks and access to the media. • A surge of empowerment felt in voters • Controversy Obama’s refusal of Public Funds during the 2008 presidential election • “Broken System” • Record breaking internet fundraising

  31. Instant Runoff Voting Michael Saxton Cassidy Jorgensen Dennis Dunn

  32. What is IRV? • Alternative voting process to the electoral system • Based on a ranking system of preferred candidates • Based on winning the majority of votes; not plurality (more than anyone else)

  33. How IRV Works • Muppet Slides http://www.instantrunoff.com/how/muppets/

  34. IRV Objections • Multiple choices mean multiple votes • The other votes are only counted if you chose the losing candidate • Ranking can hurt candidates

  35. IRV Objections cont. • Creates false majorities if there isn’t a clear number one choice • Costs the taxpayer more money

  36. IRV Benefits • Elects candidate with a true majority • Increases voter turnout

  37. IRV Benefits cont. • Eliminates primaries and saves money • Candidates use a less negative campaign strategy to attract voters

  38. IRV Benefits cont. • Lesser known candidates can attract more votes • IRV only counts one vote at a time • Minimizes wasted votes

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