September, 19 2017, 03:15pm EDT
Civil and Human Rights Coalition to Testify on Voting Rights Before the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Hearing
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, is scheduled to testify today before the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee hearing titled, "Voting Rights Under Fire: Democratic Ideas to Protect and Strengthen Americans' Constitutional Right to Vote."
WASHINGTON
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, is scheduled to testify today before the Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Committee hearing titled, "Voting Rights Under Fire: Democratic Ideas to Protect and Strengthen Americans' Constitutional Right to Vote."
"The integrity of our democracy depends on ensuring that every eligible voter can meaningfully participate in the electoral process," said Gupta. "The right to vote is fundamental to the attainment and preservation of every other civil right. It is essential to our democracy. Indeed, it is the language of our democracy. We have fought epic battles to secure the right to vote and to eliminate barriers to voting - the poll taxes, literacy tests, and brutal physical intimidation that marred our nation's history. Sadly, our voting rights battles are not a distant relic. Efforts to restrict the vote are all too alive today."
The hearing, which starts at 3 PM ET, will be livestreamed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcrOTutdkk
Gupta's full statement is pasted below and is also available here:
STATEMENT OF VANITA GUPTA, PRESIDENT AND CEO
THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS
DPCC FORUM ON VOTING RIGHTS
SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
Thank you to Senator Stabenow and the DPCC for inviting me to speak to you today. I am honored to be here. My name is Vanita Gupta and I am the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 national organizations. We were founded 67 years ago and have coordinated national lobbying efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since 1957, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and subsequent reauthorizations. Before I began working at the Leadership Conference, I was head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division during the last 2 1/2 years of the Obama Administration, and I oversaw the federal government's voting rights work.
The integrity of our democracy depends on ensuring that every eligible voter can meaningfully participate in the electoral process. The right to vote is fundamental to the attainment and preservation of every other civil right. It is essential to our democracy. Indeed, it is the language of our democracy. We have fought epic battles to secure the right to vote and to eliminate barriers to voting - the poll taxes, literacy tests, and brutal physical intimidation that marred our nation's history. Sadly, our voting rights battles are not a distant relic. Efforts to restrict the vote are all too alive today.
Voting Rights Under Assault
Voting rights in America are under assault, plain and simple. The most devastating blow to voting rights in the modern era occurred in 2013 when, in the Shelby County v. Holder case, five justices of the Supreme Court struck down the most powerful provision of the Voting Rights Act: the preclearance system. This system had empowered the Justice Department for half a century to block discriminatory voting restrictions in states and localities with the most troubling histories of discrimination, before they were able to do any damage. The Shelby County decision dramatically weakened the federal government's ability to prevent unlawful attempts to disenfranchise, harass, and intimidate American citizens as they attempt to exercise their most basic right as Americans.
The Shelby County decision emboldened states to pass voter suppression laws, such as those requiring photo identification, cutting back on early voting hours, and eliminating same-day registration. Literally within hours of the Shelby County decision, Texas implemented a strict photo ID law which had previously been blocked by the Justice Department because of its racial impact. The day after Shelby County, Republican state legislators in North Carolina announced plans to enact a massive election law, and they requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices. Upon receipt of the race data, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted legislation that restricted voting and registration in five different ways, all of which disproportionately affected African Americans.
Thankfully, federal courts struck down the Texas and North Carolina laws because the evidence showed that these states had engaged in intentional race discrimination in passing their voting restrictions. In striking down the North Carolina law in July 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit described the law as "the most restrictive voting law North Carolina has seen since the era of Jim Crow" with provisions that "target African Americans with almost surgical precision." In fact, there have been findings of intentional discrimination in at least 10 voting rights decisions since Shelby County. Although these laws were successfully challenged in court, this litigation is extremely time and resource-intensive. And by the time such laws were invalidated, elections had occurred and hundreds of thousands of voters had been disenfranchised. And despite many litigation victories, the vast majority of voting restrictions are still in effect. Today, 34 states in America - nearly 70% - have voter ID laws.
It has been heartbreaking for me to witness the Sessions Justice Department embrace the vote suppression agenda and retreat from that agency's commitment to aggressive voting rights enforcement. In February, the Sessions Justice Department reversed its longstanding litigation position that the Texas voter ID was intentionally racially discriminatory. In June, the Civil Rights Division's voting section sent a letter to 44 states forcing them to provide extensive voter information on how they maintain their voter rolls, in what appears to be a prelude to a voter purge. And in August, the Sessions Justice Department filed a brief with the Supreme Court in the case of Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, arguing that it should be easier for states to remove registered voters from their rolls - reversing not only its long-held legal interpretation, but also the position we had taken in the lower courts in that exact case.
And then we have President Trump's so-called Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was ostensibly set up to justify the President's absurd allegation that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 election. Of course, the real reason the commission was created was to restrict the right to vote in America. Working hand-in-hand with other civil rights organizations, the Leadership Conference has mounted a nationwide effort to challenge this sham commission. The fact that the commission is led by Vice President Pence and the discredited Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach tells you all you need to know about its agenda. Secretary Kobach and other commission members have built their careers trying to restrict voting rights in America.
The committee's opening salvo - an effort to create a national database of sensitive voter information for the first time in U.S. history - should alarm any American who values privacy, security, and the integrity of our elections. Sadly, in response to the commission's unprecedented data request, thousands of voters throughout the country have canceled their registrations. In this way, the commission's voter suppression impact has already begun. The commission has met twice - most recently last week in New Hampshire - and has served as a platform for conspiracy theorists and vote suppression advocates. Commission member Hans von Spakovsky was recently identified as the sender of an email to Attorney General Sessions urging that no Democrats or "mainstream" Republicans be permitted to serve on the commission. It is deeply troubling that Mr. von Spakovsky remains a member of this commission and that the commission was created in the first place. We have urged Congress to deny any appropriations to this sham commission, and we appreciate the efforts that Leader Schumer, Senator Booker, and many of you have undertaken to promote that strategy.
Affirmative Agenda for Strengthening Voting Rights in America
Of course, it is not enough just to play defense. And it is not enough to rely on the courts. Although there have been recent voting rights victories in federal court, we cannot count on the courts - not with the types of judges President Trump is putting up.
We must put forward an affirmative legislative voting rights agenda as well. The Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) is the centerpiece of that agenda. This bill would effectively overturn the Shelby County decision and create a new coverage formula - one that we believe will pass Supreme Court muster - and restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to its full and proper strength. We strongly support this bill - introduced by Senator Leahy - and I commend all of you who have cosponsored it. There are 46 Senate cosponsors; unfortunately, none are Republicans. In 2015, House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte said he would not hold a hearing on Voting Rights Act legislation and stated: "We are certainly willing to look at any new evidence of discrimination if there is a need to take any measures. But at this point, we have not seen that." In light of the fact that there have been findings of intentional discrimination by states or localities in at least 10 federal court decisions, congressional hearings on the Voting Rights Act are long overdue.
We also support the Voter Empowerment Act, which has been introduced by Senator Gillibrand in the Senate and civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis in the House. This comprehensive legislation would dramatically enhance the right to vote. Among other things, the bill would require a minimum of 15 days of early voting in federal elections, permit same-day voter registration, count all provisional ballots, prohibit voter caging practices, ensure equal allocation of polling place resources, modernize our voter registration system by making it available online, and restore the voting rights of formerly incarcerated people.
On this last issue, there is an important stand-alone bill that we strongly support: the Democracy Restoration Act, which has been championed by Senator Cardin. This bill would restore voting rights in federal elections to formerly incarcerated people who are living and working in our communities. Nearly six million American citizens are denied the right to vote because they have a past criminal conviction. Felon disenfranchisement laws are rooted in the post-Civil War era and were used to prevent freed slaves from voting, and these laws still have a significant racial impact. About one of every 13 African Americans in this country are denied the right to vote by criminal disenfranchisement laws. Congressional action is needed to restore voting rights in federal elections to the millions of Americans who have been released from incarceration, but continue to be denied their ability to fully participate in civic life.
We also support a fair, accurate, and fully funded 2020 census, which is among the most significant civil rights issues facing the country today. Census data ensure fair, proportionate voting representation for all Americans. Federal funding for key programs, such as education, health care, and rural broadband access, is determined by census data, and this is crucial in helping federal agencies monitor discrimination. Congress must oversee census planning and allocate enough money to ensure that the 2020 Census counts everyone fairly and accurately, including historically undercounted population groups. This means that Congress must ensure a sufficient funding ramp-up for the 2020 Census, by allocating more funds for the Census Bureau than the administration proposed. It will also be critical for the administration to nominate a highly qualified and widely respected professional to serve as the next Director of the Census Bureau and for the Senate to swiftly confirm that individual.
Another important funding priority is the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC was created with bipartisan support following the 2000 election to address widely-recognized problems with our voting systems that created confusion, suppressed voter turnout, and fostered doubt about the fairness of outcomes. These problems included long lines at polling stations, outdated voting technology, and registration practices that prevented lawful voters from being heard. The EAC works in a bipartisan fashion to distribute federal funds to states and municipalities for election administration, and to ensure better elections by conducting research, collecting data, and sharing information. It is a small but critical federal agency to protect and modernize the nation's voting systems.
Finally, I would like to say a word of support for Senator Leahy's Automatic Voter Registration Act. Here is how AVR works: eligible citizens who interact with government agencies are registered to vote unless they decline, and agencies transfer voter registration information electronically to election officials. This creates a seamless process that boosts registration rates, cleans up the voter rolls, and makes voting more convenient. Although there has regrettably been a lack of bipartisan support for AVR in Congress, there has been significant bipartisan support for this idea at the state level. Ten states and the District of Columbia have already approved AVR, and 32 states have introduced AVR proposals this year. Illinois became the latest state to approve automatic registration just last month, when Republican Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill that the legislature passed unanimously.
Voting rights should transcend partisanship. The Voting Rights Act was passed with both Republican and Democratic support in 1965, and every reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act was signed into law by Republican presidents - Nixon in 1970, Ford in 1975, Reagan in 1982, and Bush in 2006. No matter what policy goals we care most about, we get closer to achieving them through the ballot box. The integrity of our democracy depends on ensuring that every eligible voter can participate in the electoral process.
We appreciate your efforts to expand the right to vote in America, because it is critical that all our citizens have the ability to equally and meaningfully participate in our democracy. The Leadership Conference will be by your side in this urgent fight.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
(202) 466-3311LATEST NEWS
PEN America Cancels Awards Ceremony Amid Boycott Over 'Disgraceful' Gaza Response
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The prominent free expression group PEN America announced Monday that it has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony amid growing backlash over the organization's response to Israel's assault on Gaza and alleged attempts to suppress dissent among its employees.
The decision came after nearly half of the authors nominated for PEN America awards withdrew their names from consideration, accusing PEN America of not sufficiently speaking out against Israel's war on Gaza and the dire consequences for free expression.
The awards ceremony was scheduled to take place on April 29 in Manhattan.
In an open letter released last week, dozens of authors and translators who refused to accept any honors from the organization wrote that "PEN America has remained shamefully unwilling to speak out against the systematic nature" of Israel's "often-targeted killings of Palestinian writers, professors, and journalists and their families."
"We stand in solidarity with one another and with the people of Palestine in our refusal to lend our names and tacit approval to PEN America's disgraceful inaction," reads the open letter, which demands the resignation of PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, president Jennifer Finney Boylan, and the group's entire executive committee.
"We cannot, in good faith, align with an organization that has shown such blatant disregard of our collective values," the letter adds. "We stand in solidarity with a free Palestine. We refuse to be honored by an organization that acts as a cultural front for American imperialism. We refuse to gild the reputation of an organization that runs interference for an administration aiding and abetting genocide with our tax dollars. And we refuse to take part in anything that will serve to overshadow PEN's complicity in normalizing genocide."
"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality."
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, PEN America's literary programming chief officer, said in a statement Monday that "we greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not."
"We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful, and hard-working judges across all categories," Rosaz Shariyf added. "As an organization dedicated to freedom of expression and writers, our commitment to recognizing and honoring outstanding authors and the literary community is steadfast."
Outrage over PEN America's approach to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has been intensifying for months.
In March, as Common Dreamsreported at the time, Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, and other high-profile writers pulled out of the PEN World Voices Festival, accusing PEN America of betraying "the organization's professed commitment to peace and equality for all, and to freedom and security for writers everywhere."
After initially refusing to do so, PEN America late last month joined its global parent PEN International in calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. But the organization's critics—including current and former employees—argue it has failed to clearly and forcefully condemn Israel's assault, which has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality while parroting hasbara talking points," the open letter from PEN America award nominees states. "We have also been appalled to learn that management has sought to suppress the off-hours political speech and activity of its own workers, in part by suggesting language by which staffers could be punished for participating in any political activity that undermines PEN America's mission."
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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he would put forth an amendment to remove offensive military funding for Israel from a House-passed aid package that the Senate is set to consider this week.
The amendment would "cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. The package, approved by the Republican-controlled House over the weekend, includes $17 billion in unconditional military assistance to the Israeli government, which stands accused on the world stage of perpetrating genocide in Gaza.
The senator said he would also offer an amendment to "protect essential humanitarian operations" in the Gaza Strip, where millions of people are facing the possibility of starvation due to Israel's suffocating and illegal blockade. At least 28 children under the age of 12 have starved to death in Gaza in recent weeks.
Sanders' amendment would restore U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the most important aid agency working in Gaza.
An independent report released Monday found that Israel has not provided any evidence to support its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations. The U.S. suspended its UNRWA aid in late January in response to Israel's unsubstantiated allegations against the agency's workers, and the House-passed Israel legislation would prohibit funding for the organization.
Sanders said Monday that the Senate "should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of such a massive package."
"In poll after poll, Americans have showed their increasing disgust for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war machine and the humanitarian disaster it has caused in Gaza," the senator added. "Enough is enough. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war."
I look forward to offering amendments tomorrow to cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package and protect essential humanitarian operations. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war. pic.twitter.com/8JpxpT7IX2
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 23, 2024
A Senate vote on final passage of the White House-backed aid package—which also includes aid for Ukraine and Taiwan—is expected before Wednesday night. As Punchbowl reported, "each senator will be limited to just one hour of remarks" following procedural votes on Tuesday, so "it's likely that those who oppose the measure won't be able to drag this out much later than tonight."
The Senate vote on whether to hand Israel billions more in unconditional military aid will come as the country's military appears poised to escalate its devastating assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,000 people so far.
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While expressing gratitude for solidarity actions, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—whose daughter was suspended—said that "this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
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Over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by U.S.-backed Israeli troops, and Columbia University students have been suspended and arrested by New York Police Department officers in recent days for protesting the slaughter—which led to a walkout by the Ivy League institution's faculty on Monday.
The Guardian reported that "hundreds of members of the teaching cohort at Columbia walked out in solidarity with the students who were arrested" while "students put protest tents back up in the middle of campus on Monday after they were torn down last week when more than 100 arrests were made."
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of IfNotNow, a Jewish-led U.S. group that organizes against Israel's apartheid, declared: "Solidarity with these faculty members. Shame on establishment politicians and agitators who are smearing the anti-war protest at Columbia as anything other than what it is: a courageous stand for freedom and peace."
Naureen Akhter, a founding member of the New York-based group Muslims for Progress, said: "Thank you to the professors who stood in solidarity with student protestors, who didn't give into instigators who are fanning flames of hate and division. Remember the calls are for transparency, divestment, and amnesty for students!"
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—a critic of Israel's war on Gaza whose own daughter, Isra Hirsi, was suspended from Columbia's Barnard College last week for "standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide," as the 21-year-old junior put it—also noted the faculty walkout and "nationwide Gaza solidarity movement."
"This is more than the students hoped for and I am glad to see this type of solidarity," said Omar. "But to be clear, this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
Summary of events from the last day not related to Columbia:\n\n- Israel has not provided evidence that UNRWA staff are part of Hamas\n- A mass grave, including women/children was discovered\n- Doctors did an emergency c-section, saving a baby after an airstrikes killed her mother— (@)
The walkout in New York City followed 54 Columbia Law School professors sending a letter to administrators that states, "While we as a faculty disagree about the relevant political issues and express no opinion on the merits of the protest, we are writing to urge respect for basic rule-of-law values that ought to govern our university."
"Procedural irregularity, a lack of transparency about the university's decision-making, and the extraordinary involvement of the NYPD all threaten the university's legitimacy within its own community and beyond its gates," they wrote. "We urge the university to conform student discipline to clear and well-established procedures that respect the rule of law."
In a statement early Monday, several hours before the walkout, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik—who last week enabled NYPD arrests of students at the encampment—announced in her first statement since the sweep that all classes would be virtual "to deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps."
"Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy. Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus," Shafik said. "During the coming days, a working group of deans, university administrators, and faculty members will try to bring this crisis to a resolution."
The national group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on Monday accused Columbia of creating "a climate of repression and harm for students peacefully protesting for an end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza" over the past six months.
"Columbia University has actively created a hostile environment for students who are Palestinian or who support Palestinian freedom. Additionally, the administration's actions have made the campus much less safe for Jewish students," JVP said.
According to JVP:
Instead of listening to the calls of Columbia and Barnard students to divest from the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government, the university has called in the NYPD to arrest students, suspended them, and even expelled them. At present 85 students, 15 of whom are Jewish, are suspended.
Yesterday's statement by the White House, like the administrators of Columbia University, dangerously and inaccurately presumes that all Jewish students support the Israeli government's genocide of Palestinians. This assumption is actively harming Palestinian and Jewish students.
The administration has not only harassed Jewish students and failed to ensure their safety and well-being, it has also obstructed their religious observances during Shabbat and prevented them from accessing their Jewish community on the eve of Passover.
While President Joe Biden's Sunday statement was officially about Passover—a Jewish holiday that begins at sundown on Monday—and not the protests at Columbia and other campuses across the country, it was widely received as a response to the latter.
Biden said in part that "we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism—in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous—and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a Ph.D. student at the university, toldCNN that "Columbia students organizing in solidarity with Palestine—including Jewish students—have faced harassment, doxxing, and now arrest by the NYPD. These are the main threats to the safety of Jewish Columbia students."
"On the other hand, student protesters have led interfaith joint prayers for several days now, and Passover Seder will be held at the Gaza solidarity encampment tomorrow," he added. "Saying that student protesters are a threat to Jewish students is a dangerous smear."
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a lengthy statement that "we are student activists at Columbia calling for divestment from genocide. We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us. At universities across the nation, our movement is united in valuing every human life."
"As a diverse group united by love and justice, we demand our voices be heard against the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza," the statement continues. "We've been horrified each day, watching children crying over the bodies of their slain parents, families without food to eat, and doctors operating without anesthesia. Our university is complicit in this violence and this is why we protest."
The Columbia Spectator reported Monday that Columbia College passed a divestment referendum that "asked whether the university should divest financially from Israel, cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center, and end Columbia's dual degree program with Tel Aviv University," with respective votes of 76.55%, 68.36%, and 65.62%. However, a statement from a university spokesperson signaled the referendum would not lead to any shift in campus policies.
Beyond Columbia, there are ongoing demonstrations at institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, the University of Michigan, and Yale University, another Ivy League school, where at least 47 peaceful student protesters were arrested on Monday.
Those arrested were "charged with class A misdemeanors, which is the highest class of misdemeanors in Connecticut—the same degree applies to third-degree assault," according to the Yale Daily News. Citing a university spokesperson, the student newspaper added that they "will be referred for Yale disciplinary action—which could include reprimand, probation, or suspension."
Pushing back against some administrators' statements, journalist Thomas Birmingham, who was with the Yale protesters overnight, said on social media: "Here's some things I saw... 1. Repeated and loud calls to remain peaceful. 2. Students locking arms, teaching Arabic and Hebrew, and passing around pizza and water. 3. Lots of singing."
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