The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Section of the Boston Bar Association and the Boston Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society Present a Panel Discussion on “ Voter Integrity or Suppression: The Effect of the New Voting Laws in 2012 and Beyond ” Monday, April 29, Boston Bar Association Panelists: David Sullivan Justin Levitt Charles Stewart Moderator: Robert Whitney

2 Experiences in Voter Protection Efforts: The View from The Trenches David E. Sullivan

Line outside polling station, Miami, Florida Associated Press 3

Line outside polling station, Aventura, Florida Daily Kos 4

Lines outside polling station, West Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach Post 5

Line outside polling station, Columbus, Ohio 6

Line outside polling station, Cleveland, Ohio 7

Voting Laws, 2012 and Beyond Professor Justin Levitt Loyola Law School – Los Angeles 8

Restrictions in Felony disenfranchisementFL, IA Voter registration drivesFL, TX Other registration restrictionsAL, KS, MI, NH, TN Same-day registration ME, MN, OH Broad purgesCO, FL, IA, TN, TX More restrictive ID AL, KS, MS, NH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WI Early/absentee voting limitsCO, FL, GA, OH, TN, WV

Restrictions in Felony disenfranchisementFL, IA Voter registration drivesFL, TX Other registration restrictionsAL, KS, MI, NH, TN Same-day registration ME, MN, OH Broad purgesCO, FL, IA, TN, TX More restrictive ID AL, KS, MS, NH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WI Early/absentee voting limitsCO, FL, GA, OH, TN, WV             

The Perfect Storm 11 Robert King / Newsmakers

2000 Voting technology Voter information Recount Deadlines Registration problems Voter purges Lines Ballot design Absentee ballots Military/overseas ballots 2012 Voting technology Voter information Deadlines Registration problems Voter purges Lines Ballot design / length Absentee ballots Military/overseas ballots Voter ID Resource allocation Challenges Provisional ballots Recount 12

13 Voting technology Voter information Recount Deadlines Registration problems Voter purges Lines Ballot design (butterfly) Absentee ballots Military/overseas ballots 16 different lawsuits after election day, in Florida alone

Law on the books, law on the ground 14 J.D. Pooley / Getty Images

Barriers to Voting in 2012: What the Public Saw Professor Charles Stewart III MIT 15

Three Surveys Survey of the Performance of American Elections – 10,200 registered voters on “Election Day” (200/state + DC) Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) – 54,500 adults nationwide MIT/Reed College module of the CCES – 2,000 adults nationwide 16

VOTER ID 17

Voter ID Is Popular All respondents76%72% Democrats65%54% African Americans77%61% Liberals58%42% Republicans90%88% Whites76%73% Conservatives90%91% Question: [Do you support requiring] all people to show government issued photo ID when they vote?

Voter ID Is Popular All respondents72% Voting in a privilege (32%)84% 50/50 (11%)77% Voting is a right (57%)65% Question: [Do you support requiring] all people to show government issued photo ID when they vote?

Racial Disparities Are Real 20 Any D.L.Valid D.L.Any PassportValid Passport White93%84%41%35% Black79%63%28%25% Hispanic90%73%49%42% White – Black White – Hispanic

Pollworker Discretion Is an Issue 21 Strict photoNon-strict photoNon-photo IDNo ID All65%60%36%16% White64%59%36%13% Black67%63%40%22% Hispanic---79%30%31%

WAITING TO VOTE 22

Most People Don’t Wait a Long Time Not at all38%37% Less than 10 minutes27%31% minutes19%20% minutes11%9% More than one hour6%3% Average (min.)

The Problem Is Focused on a Few States 24

It’s the Same States as

The Four Factors Race Early voting Urban/rural (South)eastern seaboard 26

The Four Factors: I: Race 27 White11.6 Black23.3 Hispanic18.7 Asian Amer.15.4 Native Amer.13.3 Mixed13.6 Other13.3

The Four Factors: II & III: Early Voting & Rural/Urban 28 Pop. densityElection DayEarlyTotal 1st quartile (1-75) nd quartile (75-570) rd quartile ( ) th quartile ( )

The Four Factors: IV: (South)eastern Seaboard 29