Fighting Voter Suppression: Talking with Voters about Photo ID & Other Laws

1. Fighting Voter Suppression:Talking with Voters about Photo ID & Other Laws Guest Trainer: Lee Rowland, Brennan Center Guest Trainer: Ashindi Maxton, SEIU Facilitated By: Hope Wood, NOI

2. FOLLOWING THE LAW Elections.neworganizing.com

3. FOLLOWING THE LAW www.afj.org

4. Introductions • Chapter 1: Wave of Voter Suppression • Chapter 2: Successful Pushback • Chapter 3: Talking About It • Chapter 4: A Case Study - What We Learned In the Field • Q & A • Evaluation & Wrap-up

5. Lee Rowland Counsel, Democracy Program lee.rowland@nyu.edu • Counsel, Brennan Center’s Democracy Program; Voting Rights and Elections • Lead Counsel, League of Women Voters of Florida v. Browning • Key work includes communications research on voting and registration, student voting rights, modernizing our voter registration system, and restoring the right to vote to individuals with criminal convictions.

6. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Our work ranges from voting rights to campaign finance reform, from racial justice in criminal law to Constitutional protection in the fight against terrorism.

7. The Brennan Center’s Voting Rights & Elections Team: - Analyzes (Voting Law Changes; Talking About Voting)- Advocates (Registration Modernization; VEA)- Litigates (FL, SC)

8. Chapter ONE:A Wave of Suppressive Laws

10. New Voting Restrictions • Restrictive photo ID: 9 passed • Documentary proof of citizenship: 3 passed • Making voter registration harder: 5 passed • Reducing absentee and early voting: 5 passed • Making it harder to restore voting rights: 3 states

11. Photo ID: impacts • 11% of Americans lack photo ID • 18% of Americans over 65 lack photo ID • 25% of African Americans lack photo ID • 78%of African-American males 18-24 in WI lack a valid driver’s license • 750,000registered PA voters lack photo ID

12. So…Where’s the Fire? • In-person voter fraud: .00004% of votes • More likely to get struck by lightning • PA says it can identify ZERO cases of fraud that the new photo ID law would have prevented

13. Troubling motives: • PA Rep. Turzai: Photo ID “is going to allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania” • Former state FL GOP Chairman: “I was upset • because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting.”

14. Florida state Senator Bennett (2011): “Did you hear the stories about people in Africa? People in the desert who walk 200-300 miles so they could have an opportunity to do what we do? And we want to make it more convenient? How much more convenient do you want to make it? Go to their house? Take the polling booth with us? This is a hard-fought privilege. This is something people died for. And you want to make it convenient? To the guy who died to give you that right, it was not convenient. Why would we make it any easier? I want ‘em to fight for it. I want ‘em to know what it’s like. I want ‘em to have to walk across town to go over and vote…I gotta tell you I wouldn’t have any problem making it harder.”

15. Chapter TWO:The Pushback

18. Restrictive laws blocked by pushback • 5 photo ID bills vetoed (MN, MO, MT, NH, NC); improved in VA • Photo ID laws blocked in WI, PA by state courts • Photo ID law blocked in TX by the VRA (…& SC?) • Restrictions on OH’s early voting period blocked by federal court • FL voter registration restrictions ended by courtsettlement • Voter registration restrictions blocked by citizen-initiated referendumin Maine

19. Federal Judge Hinkle (FL): “The short deadline, coupled with substantial penalties for noncompliance, make voter-registration drives a risky business. If the goal is to discourage voter-registration drives and thus also to make it harder for new voters to register, the 48-hour deadline may succeed. But if the goal is to further the state’s legitimate interests without unduly burdening the rights of voters and voter registration organizations, 48 hours is a bad choice.” Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law

20. Chapter THREE:Talking about Voter Suppression and Photo ID

21. Three phases of research • Initial Baseline Survey: 800 likely voters nationwide with oversamples of 100 African Americans and 100 Latinos, June 18-24, 2012 • 7 focus groups: of likely and uncertain voters in Cleveland, Orlando, and Houston, July 9-16, 2012 • In-depth communications surveys: 800 likely voters and 612 uncertain voters nationwide. We “oversampled” Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American voters. Half of respondents were under age 30.

22. Tip #1: avoid “Suppression” • Don’t say voter suppression. (Voters don’t know what this term means.) • It is more effective to refer to “laws that make it harder to vote.” • Emphasizing the difficulty of meeting new legal requirements may demobilize uncertain voters.

23. Findings to consider: Voters believe: …that fraud is widespread. …that undocumented immigrants vote. …that photo identification laws are necessary. Trying to convince them with facts and figures does not work. Voters do not reject the frame, they reject the facts.

24. However, voters have a broad, elastic definition of fraud. 24 “It was a voting thing and they used dead people like and use their names in order to count their votes.” Moderator: “So who would do that?” “Crooked politicians…or special interests.” (White non-college man likely voter, Houston) Darker colors used to indicate intensity. Each question was asked of half the sample. How widespread do you think voter fraud in U.S. elections is? Is it very widespread, somewhat widespread, not very widespread, or not widespread at all? How concerned are you about voter fraud in U.S. elections? Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned, not very concerned, or not concerned at all?

25. Tip #2: Call out politicians • Americans are angry at politicians and disillusioned with the political system. • Naming politicians as bad actors gaming the system is an effective persuasive technique. • Point out that they are changing rules before the elections for their own gain.

26. How to apply this to ID • Even though voters support showing photo ID at the polls, they DON’T like politicians picking and choosing one or two types of ID. • Voters don’t like when politicians’ manipulation of the rules hurts sympathetic groups, like seniors, veterans, and long-time voters. • Voters do want flexibility and the opportunity to show more than one form of identification, to ensure fair and equal access to the ballot.

27. Acknowledge fraud and flip the frame! It’s important to stop voter fraud.  But the real fraud happens whensome politicians try to manipulate voting laws because they don’t like what the voters have to say. They are deliberately trying to limit the voting rights of people who may not support them. It's wrong to pass laws for political gain that take away the right to vote from millions of eligible citizens.

28. Tip #3: use values-based language • The best messages tap into basic values of freedom and fairness, and echo foundational documents. • We must keep our elections free, fair, and accessible. • All voters respond positively to responsibility-based messages (the bootstrap mentality). • If you don’t vote, you can’t complain!

29. Make an appeal to equality Our nation is founded on the principle that all Americans are created equal. If America wants to live up to its promise to provide all citizens with the same freedoms, then we can’t pass laws that block some Americans from voting and deny them the opportunity to participate equally in our democracy. And citizens have the responsibility to do their part and vote. It’s our right to vote. It’s our democracy. It’s important that our election laws are fair and equal.

30. Tip #4: tell a story to evoke those values Humanizing the impact of photo ID laws is effective… For 30 years, 93-year-old Thelma Mitchell cleaned the state Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee. Her old employee ID, issued by the state, doesn’t satisfy the new state law requiring a photo ID to vote (even though her photo is on it). But she can’t get a valid photo ID because she was delivered by a midwife in Alabama in 1918 and was never issued a birth certificate. As a result, Mitchell — a U.S. citizen — risks losing her right to vote for the first time in decades because she can’t get the photo ID citizens are now required to show in order to vote in Tennessee. …because we need to keep our elections free, fair, and accessible so we don’t have any more Thelma Mitchells.

31. But Don’t demobilize uncertain voters! • Talking about the restrictive voting laws is necessary because voters need to be aware of the rules so that they can vote. But it is important to begin with motivational language about votingand avoid language that makes uncertain voters believe that voting is too hard or complex. • Uncertain and young voters lack confidence that they have enough information to vote – both about candidates and the nuts and bolts of registering and voting. • Use clear, encouraging language like: • In order to participate in our great democracy and have your voice heard, every voter just needs to understand the rules in their state, register on time, and show up at the correct polling place. [Anyone can do it, and everyone should do it.]

32. FINAL TIP: Whatever messaging you pick: REPEAT IT!!!! REPEAT IT!!!! REPEAT IT!!!! REPEAT IT!!!! REPEAT IT!!!!

33. Lee Rowland Counsel, Democracy Program Brennan Center for Justice lee.rowland@nyu.edu

34. Ashindi Maxton Director of Partner Capacity Programs SEIU

35. What We learned In the field in PA

38. www.neworganizing.com/toolbox