Carter Baker Commission Stirs Controversy

The September 19th release of recommendations by a reform commission headed by Jimmy Carter and James Baker met with mixed reactions and concerns from some election reformers about photo identification requirements at the polls, and something like a dull thud in Congress.

FairVote applauds the commission for its endorsement of a more inclusive presidential primary schedule, high school civic education, nonpartisan elections officials, verified voting and articulating the goal of universal voter registration.

But the report falls short in the breadth of its recommended reforms. It stays silent on essential reforms like direct election of the president, redistricting reform, proportional voting systems and instant runoff voting. Moreover, the report turns away from the ideal of nationwide standards for running federal elections founded on a constitutional right to vote, instead accepting the familiar state-by-state patchwork of rules.

FairVote's Executive Director Rob Richie was an academic advisor to the commission.

[ Visit the Commission's website ]
[ Read a dissent by one of the Commission members, Spencer Overton ]
[ Rob Richie quoted in the Christian Science Monitor ]
[ Carter addresses FairVote proposals with students at AU ]
[ Rob Richie and Steven Hill highlight the positive in new op-ed ]

Iowa Governor Restores Voting Rights to Ex-Felons

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced Friday June 17th that he will sign an executive order on July 4th to streamline the process of restoring voting rights to ex-felons. The order will return voting rights to an estimated 80,000 Iowans who would otherwise have needed to petition the governor under the current law.

Vilsack’s order follows a similar move by Nebraska’s state legislature in March that restored voting rights to ex-felons. There are now only four states- Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Virginia- that completely deny the right to vote to people with previous felony convictions.

FairVote believes that Iowa's effort is an important step towards ensuring an equal right to vote that cannot be abridged simply on account of a citizen's state of residence.

[ More on felon voting rights ]
[ Read the New York Times article ]

San Francisco Explores Voter Preregistration for High School Students

On April 5^th the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to explore instituting a voter preregistration system for high school students. Resolution 271-05, sponsored by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, calls for preregistering students as they enter their junior year. When they turn 18 they would be notified that their registration has automatically taken effect and given information on the date of the next election and their responsibilities when changing addresses.

FairVote strongly urges San Francisco to implement a high school voter preregistration program in order to shift some of the responsibility of registration from the citizen to the government and to guarantee cleaner voter rolls. The resolution supports both of these goals, noting that voter registration is the mutual responsibility of the citizen and the government in most democracies and universal voter registration will lead to cleaner voter rolls and reduce the opportunity for voter fraud. 
[Read the Resolution]