Political scrum surrounding ‘Motor Voter’
Today, a number of Democratic U.S. senators have asked the Department of Justice to take a long, hard look at states’ compliance with “Motor Voter” (officially known as the National Voter Registration Act of 1993).
That’s because while registering at the DMV is commonplace thanks to Section 5 of the law, national activists say other parts have been forgotten. They refer specifically to Section 7, which requires public aid offices, just like the DMV, to give everyone applying or renewing services — such as food stamps, Medicaid, welfare, etc. — the option to register to vote.
The issue was cause for Congressional hearings earlier this month.
Six Democrat U.S. senators formally sent a letter today to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to get a handle on the situation and take legal action as necessary.
“Simply put, non-compliance with Section 7 (of the NVRA) is depriving low-income citizens of an important opportunity to participate in the democratic process,” the letter reads.
The letter was initiated by Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. It’s also signed by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).
I wrote a story for today’s newspaper about this issue in the specific context of a civil rights lawsuit filed Wednesday in Kansas City against some state and local officials. The suit, similar to the Senators’ complaint, alleges that MO public aid offices have slacked off in implementing federal rules on voter registration.
Adam - Great job. Maybe the fallout of your article will have an positive impact on democracy. We NEED more action from our elected officials to ensure the Administrations, nationally and in Missouri, are enforcing all election laws, not just the laws which disenfranchise low-income voters. It is funny that Blunt’s administration, the same Blunt who drastically cut Medicaid in Missouri, would not want to register voters where they apply for state services. Wait, popular thought is that if you need to apply to get from DSS you are poor and most poor people vote not for Blunt’s party, Right? The applications for food stamps has risen over the last 12 years yet the registration of voters at DSS offices is down to one-tenth during the same time. Good job Senators. This letter is a great first step. I hope they follow through. My question is, where the heck is Claire McCaskill on this? We should all call her and ask. 314-367-1364
Today’s Democrats … fighting for the right of welfare recipients to vote, and the right of illegal immigrants to receive welfare. Of course, the Republicans share the blame for this - for all the years they controlled Congress, they never took the opportunity to get rid of this horrible law. I say if you can’t pry yourself away from the television set for long enough to go down to the library and register, you don’t need to vote.
Nick-
I guess you have the assumption there are not any republicans whom visit DSS nor sit on their couches all day and watch TV. Your comments are always insightful. I am glad you share my passion for voting.
What is DSS?