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JOINT STATEMENT ON US VOTING RIGHTS BEFORE UN COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
February 21, 2008

I speak today on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, World Rights and the Sentencing Project.

Despite the assertion of the US govt., elections are not solely regulated by state governments.  The federal government does in fact pass statutes that concern elections, and in fact, to its credit, last year renewed expiring provisions of the federal statute known as the Voting Rights Act, legislation  that bans racial discrimination in elections.  However, recent elections continue to reveal substantial evidence of vote suppression. Given this evidence, and the fact that we face an important election later this year, we urge this Committee to address the following violations:

FIRST:  The US bars over 5.3 million Americans from voting because they have criminal records.  Given current trends, 40% of black men will soon be unable to vote in some states.  A combination of confusing laws, poorly trained elections personnel, and improperly executed voter removal and restoration procedures very likely result in millions more being denied the right to vote despite being eligible to do so.  These laws persist despite the Human Rights Committee's 2006 Concluding Observation that human rights standards do not support removing the vote from people who have served their terms in prison; despite the fact that most European nations even permit people currently incarcerated to vote; and despite the fact that a majority of Americans polled would like to see these laws erased.

SECOND: Since taking office in 2000, the current Administration has not adequately enforced federal voting rights legislation. For example, it has used the central anti-discrimination provision of the Voting Rights Act significantly less frequently than did past administrations, and has only prosecuted a handful of claims of discrimination against African American voters.  Enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act has been biased in favor of reducing voters rather than enfranchising new voters.  The current Administration also has tried to prevent citizens from being allowed to sue to enforce their rights under the federal Help America Vote Act.

THIRD:  The residents of the District of Columbia have been voiceless for 200 years now, having had to obey laws which they have no say in making.  According to a World Rights report, of the 600,000 disfranchised DC residents, 60% are African-American.  Every international body that has reviewed the disfranchisement of DC residents has determined it to be a violation of human rights standards.

FOURTH:  A wide variety of deceptive voting practices continue to be used to suppress minority votes.  For example, in the 2006 national elections, there were efforts to keep voter participation low for political gain; to mislead and deceive voters by advising them the date of the election had shifted or that their polling place had changed.

Voting rights cases brought over the last 35 years indicate similar patterns of voting rights violations for Native Americans as for other minorities, as well as reservation-specific violations relating to accessibility of polling places and failure to provide services in Indigenous languages.

IN CONCLUSION, we respectfully request the Committee to recommend that the US (1) call upon states to pass legislation that, at a minimum, allows people with criminal convictions to vote upon release from prison; (2) to ensure adequate positive enforcement of federal voter protections; (3) to ensure DC residents have as much a say in the federal Congress as residents of other states; and (4) to pass the currently pending federal deceptive voting practices legislation.

Thank you.