DATE: April 14, 2014
TO: Concerned Parties
FROM: Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES IS URGED TO HOLD HEARING ON THE VOTING RIGHTS AMENDMENT ACT OF 2014 AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
PROPOSED BILLS, S. 1945 AND H.R. 3899, NEED TO BE AMENDED, STRENGTHENED AND PASSED SWIFTLY
THE ACTION We Need You To Take:
Contact your Representative and both your Senators and Urge Them to strengthen and expand H.R. 3988 / S. 1945 through the amendment process and pass a stronger bill as quickly as possible. To contact your Senators and Representative, you may:
ü Make a Phone Call:
Call your Senators and your Representative in Washington by dialing the Capitol Switchboard and asking to be transferred to your Senators'/Congressman’s offices. The switchboard phone number is (202) 224-3121 (see message section, below).
ü Write a Letter
To write letters to your Senators, send them to:
The Honorable (name of Senator)
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
To write a letter to your Representative, send it to:
The Honorable (name of Representative)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
ü Send a Fax
If you would like to send a fax, call your Senators’ or Representative’s offices (through the Capitol switchboard) and ask for their fax numbers (you can use either the attached sample letter or the message box, below).
ü Send an E-Mail
To send an e-mail to your Senators, go to www.senate.gov; click on “Find Your Senators”. Look up your Senators by state; go to their web sites for e-mail addresses.
To send an e-mail to your Representative, go to www.house.gov, and click on “Write Your Representative” (on the left hand side, just under “find your Representative). This will help you identify who your congressman is and how to contact him/her.
REMEMBER TO CONTACT BOTH YOUR SENATORS!!!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!!
If you have any questions, call Hilary Shelton at the Washington Bureau at (202) 463-2940.
(date)
The Honorable ______
United States Senate / House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510 / 20515
RE: We need to amend and strengthen H.R. 3899 / S. 1945, the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, and pass it as quickly as possible
Dear Senator / Representative ______;
As your constituent, I strongly encourage you to amend and strengthen H.R. 3899 / S. 1945, the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, and to pass it as quickly as possible.
Discrimination in our election process is real and sadly pervasive throughout our nation. It is an immediate threat to the success of our democracy. And, while I am thankful Congress is making voting rights a legislative priority, and I appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into the legislation so far, I nevertheless have serious concerns about the ability of some provisions in the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 to protect all voters from discrimination at the polls.From the exceptions for voter ID laws to decreased preclearance coverage to increased reliance on costly litigation, there are essential revisions and amendments to this bill that must take place.
Thus I urge you to vote to strengthen the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014 and pass it as soon as possible so we can get back on track in terms of protecting the voting rights of all Americans. While we know that compromise will be needed to pass this bill, we cannot sacrifice our core principle: participation in our democracy should be unfettered and all votes should be properly counted.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this extremely important issue. Please contact me in the very near future to let me know what you intend to do with respect to H.R. 3899 / S. 1945, and what I can do to enhance voting right protections for all Americans.
Sincerely,
(sign and print your name and
remember to include your address)
Voting Rights Amendments Act of 2014
Section by Section Description
H.R. 3899 / S. 1945
Section 2. Violations Triggering Authority Of Court To Retain Jurisdiction -- Provides that a court can “bail-in” a State or political subdivision based on a discriminatory result by amending Section 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) to include violations of Section 2 of the VRA and violations of any Federal voting rights law that prohibits voting discrimination against racial and language minorities. It carves out from the new standard Section 2(a) cases that are based on a photo identification requirement.
Section 3. Criteria For Coverage of States and Political Subdivisions -- Sets forth a new nationwide coverage formula that provides that a State or political subdivision will be subject to preclearance under §5 of the VRA as follows:
· A state can be covered if: (1) it commits 5 voting violations in the most recent 15 year period and (2) at least 1 of the violations is committed by the State itself.
· A political subdivision within a state can be covered if it commits 3 voting violations in the most recent 15 year period or commits 1 violation in this period and has had “persistent and extremely low minority voter turnout.”
· A State or political subdivision will continue to be covered for 10 years starting on January 1 of the year of the most recent voting rights violations in the state or subdivision, unless the State or subdivision obtains a “bail-out” under Section 4(a).
· Under the new VRA, a voting rights violation includes (A) a final judgment from a court that the state or subdivision violated the 14th or 15th Amendment to the Constitution; (B) a final judgment of a court that a state or political subdivision violated federal voting laws; (C) a failure or denial of pre-clearance by a court under section 5 or 3(c) of the VRA; or (D) a failure or denial of pre-clearance by the Attorney General under section 5 or 3(c) of the VRA that is not overturned by a court. The Attorney General’s denial cannot, however, be based on the imposition of a photo identification requirement.
· “Persistent, extremely low minority turnout” is determined with respect to political subdivisions, comparing the minority turnout rate in the relevant subdivision to other minority and non-minority turnout rates in other subdivisions, the state, and the nation over the most recent 15 years.
Section 4. Promoting Transparency to Enforce the Voting Rights Act -- Creates a new Section of the VRA providing for notice and disclosure by States and political subdivisions for three voting-related matters: (i) late breaking voting changes involving federal elections (e.g., changes in voting standards or procedures enacted 180 days before a federal election); (ii) polling resources involving federal elections (e.g., information concerning precincts/polling places, number of voting age and registered voters, voting machines, and poll workers); and (iii) redistricting and other changes in voting districts involving federal, state and local elections.
Section 5. Authority To Assign Observers In Certain Political Subdivisions -- Clarifies that the Attorney General has the continuing authority to request Federal Observers in jurisdictions subject to pre-clearance, and authorizes the AG to assign observers with respect to additional jurisdictions where necessary to enforce the language minority provisions of Section 203 of the VRA.
Section 6. Injunctive Relief – Clarifies that preliminary injunctive relief applies to all provisions of the VRA and specifies that such relief shall be granted if, on balance, the hardship imposed upon the defendant by the relief will be less than the hardship imposed on the plaintiff if the relief were not granted.
The Congress – both the United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives – is scheduled to be out of session from August 5, 2013 through September 8, 2013. Many Senators and Representatives use this time to hear from their constituents back home; through either in-state or in-district meetings or larger public forums, usually known as “town hall meetings.”
This provides you with a terrific opportunity to have a face-to-face meeting with your elected representative, usually without having to travel too far, to talk about restoring the integrity of the Voting Rights Act in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Shelby County v. Holder.
In order to establish when your Senator or Representative will be in your area, you should determine which of his or her district office is closest to you, and contact that office. For a listing of District offices, you can:
· Look at the Senators’ / Representative’s websites (go to www.senate.gov and www.house.gov); or
· Contact the NAACP Washington Bureau at (202) 463-2940 and we will help you identify not only who your Senators are and your representative is, but also how to get in touch with their offices.
After determining the office nearest you, go ahead and give them a call and indicate that you would like to meet with the Senator / Representative. Find out if he or she will be holding office hours any time soon, or if he or she will be hosting a “town hall” meeting in your area.
A few things to remember:
· Always work in concert with your branch or your state conference.
· Everyone has one elected Representative and two Senators. We need to contact them all!
Be polite, but be firm. They represent you, after all, and should be concerned with issues important to you.
How to make the most of
your Congressional Advocacy Visit
“Quick Planner”
After you have made an appointment with your federally elected representative to discuss the restoration of the integrity of the Voting Rights Act, there are a few things you can do to ensure you are as effective as possible during your meeting.
· Know something about the district / state represented by the person you are about to meet:
o What are the largest cities;
o Where does he / she hail from;
o What are the largest industries in the area your Congressperson / Senator represents?
· Know something about the work of the Member of Congress you are meeting with:
o What Committees does he / she serve on?
o What issues has the Senator / Representative focused on during his / her tenure in Congress?
o How long has the Senator / Representative been in Congress?
o When is he / she up for re-election?
o What did the Senator / Representative do prior to first being elected to Congress?
o How did the Senator / Representative score on the last few NAACP report cards?
§ This information can be found at www.NAACP.org or by contacting the NAACP Washington Bureau
· Review the NAACP Issue Alert on the Voting Rights Act so everyone has the same information. Also go to the website, www.naacp.org, or call the NAACP Washington Bureau at (202) 463-2940 to make sure you have the most current information
· Prepare a one-page summary of your position to leave with your Senator / Representative.
o Include examples of the problem from the district / state if possible.
· Make a plan for your visit:
o Chose a spokesperson for the introductions
o Decide who will say what
o Identify who will provide any follow-up information requested during the meeting
· Practice for the visit
· Dress for success in business attire and be on time (early may even be better)!
· Explain who you are, why you are there, and be certain to explain that you are a constituent (let them know what town / area you live in).
o Have each person introduce him- or herself by sharing their name and where they are from. Also talk a little about the group you represent (how many members, frequency of meetings)
· Be clear, concise, compelling and credible. Remember that there is often a strict time limit to these meetings!
· Be polite yet firm in explaining your position; try to avoid direct criticism.
· Bring the message back to your issue if it goes off track.
· Use personal examples or examples that you know of from the Senator’s state / Representative’s district if you can.
· Be clear about what you want the Senator / Representative to do.
· Record key points of the conversation as well as any questions that you can’t answer; promise to get back with a response within one week.
· Leave a summary of your position on the issue(s) you discussed.
· Write a note to the Senator / Representative within 72 hours thank him / her for the visit and reiterating your conversation
· Send any answers to questions that were posed during the meeting as quickly as possible
· Be certain to talk among your group to ensure that you all have similar memories of the visit
· Continue to contact your Senator / Representative to maintain an open dialogue as Voting Rights Act restoration legislation moves forward.
Name of Senator / Representative: ______
Office location: ______
______
Date of visit: ______Time of Visit:______# of people attending ___
Facts about the Person you are visiting and the area he / she represents:
When first elected: ______When next up for reelection: ______
Hometown:______Large cities in district:______