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Stand for Freedom — Defend the right to vote
The Right to Vote
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Fifteenth Amendment, United States Constitution
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Nineteenth Amendment, United States Constitution
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote…shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.”
Twenty-Fourth Amendment, United States Constitution
“The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.”
Twenty-Sixth Amendment, United States Constitution
The right to vote is the heart of our democracy. Throughout our history, Americans have fought for and died for this most basic right. But today that right is under attack like never before. In 2011 alone, two-thirds of state legislatures introduced laws that undermine the right to vote.
Early voting and Sunday voting are under attack. Photo ID requirements will introduce the first financial and document barrier to voting since the poll tax. Racially-motivated bans on ex-felons will wipe tens of thousands off the rolls. Registering to vote is being made more difficult.
This effort is unprecedented, it is coordinated, and it is targeted. African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, students and young people, working women, seniors and immigrants of all colors will be disproportionately affected.
Take Action
- Take the Stand For Freedom Pledge for Voting Rights. Read it and add your name here.
- Tell Attorney General Eric Holder to protect the right to vote and use his power under the Voting Rights Act to reject laws with discriminatory effect. Send a letter through the ACLU.
- Learn more. The Brennan Center for Justice published a report in 2011 about the current wave of voter suppression laws. Read the summary or download the full report. A second report, from the NAACP, provides in-depth data and an analysis of the disproportionate effect that voter suppression laws have on African Americans and Latinos; download the NAACP report here. There is also a history in the U.S. of efforts to suppress the vote going back to the 19th century; if you’re interested in that, check out Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward’s Why Americans Still Don’t Vote.