1. Building an Inclusive Democracy

2. have fueled restrictive voter laws
Since 2010,
claims of
VOTER FRAUD
have fueled restrictive voter laws
Supporters of photo ID laws argue that they prevent voter fraud- but the evidence is not there
Solution:
Abolish voter ID laws—and ease the burden by expanding the list of acceptable IDs:
In states that require strict photo IDs, they must meet the requirement to make IDs available to all eligible voters.
New Thinking:
What other measures can be put in place to address the concerns photo voter ID is meant to solve (voter is not eligible; or voter already voted)?
How do we address the problem of voters registered more than once?

3. Photo Voter Identification
33 states have some photo ID law
11% of Americans lack the ID required by strict ID law
Supporters of photo ID laws argue that they prevent voter fraud- but the evidence is not there
Solution:
Abolish voter ID laws—and ease the burden by expanding the list of acceptable IDs:
In states that require strict photo IDs, they must meet the requirement to make IDs available to all eligible voters.
New Thinking:
What other measures can be put in place to address the concerns photo voter ID is meant to solve (voter is not eligible; or voter already voted)?
How do we address the problem of voters registered more than once?

4. How do we get to 100% ?
- 65% is the high note today - Older whiter voters participate in higher numbers; young people exercise their voices through volunteerism - not seeing government as a solution.
The result in that this 65% is not evenly spread, but a subset of electors that are making decisions for everyone.
- To build an inclusive democracy, we have to look at the factors that keep people who are eligible to vote from voting.

5. Transition: In 2012, the Census Bureau reported on eligible voters who did not vote in We can learn from we these responses to address the barriers to voting.

6. 19% Too busy / Conflicting Schedule
Voter-centered elections address the issues of
57%
of non-voters
8% Out of town
5% Registration Problems
4% Forgot to Vote
3% Transportation Problems
Illness/Disability
14%
3% Inconvenient polling place
1% Bad weather conditions
19% Too busy / Conflicting Schedule
Transition: In 2012, the Census Bureau reported on eligible voters who did not vote in We can learn from we these responses to address the barriers to voting.

7. Modernize Voter Experience
Registration
Voting
Registration
Registration
& Vote-by-Mail
Our current voter registration system is outdated and error-prone
Voter registration modernization would include:
AVR: State election officials automatically register eligible citizens using reliable information from other government lists. All would be given the chance to “opt out,” or decline registration.
Portability: Once eligible citizens are on a state’s voter rolls, they remain registered and their records move with them.
Online Access: Voters can register, check, and update their registration records through a secure and accessible online portal.
Safety Net: Eligible citizens can correct errors on the rolls or register before and on Election Day at the polling place.
New Thinking:
How can we ensure privacy and security of personal data (to encourage state and private sources to participate in Auto Reg)?
How can government communicate with new voters to engage them effectively (how do we protect against deceptive practices, where non government/3rd party actors spam voters and send misleading voting information (eg. Dems vote on Weds)?

8. What are Voter-Centered elections?
35 states have
Early Voting
3 states automatically mail ballots. 14 CA counties will be piloting.
13 states have Same Day Registration
1 state has Vote Centers.
CA will be piloting in 2018.
Early Voting – 35 states and DC– AL, AZ, AK, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MS, MN, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WV, WI, WY, and DC. studies have shown that in-person absentee voting has boosted black turnout, in part because some states allow people to submit votes on the weekend. This has enabled African-American churches’ “Souls to the Polls” initiatives, in which churchgoers are transported straight from the pews to the ballot box.
Politico: A paper examining the effects of Florida’s early voting patterns in the 2008 election showed that African Americans were more likely to cast in-person absentee ballots than white voters. African Americans made up 13 percent of registered voters in Florida, but cast 22 percent of the in-person absentee votes.
Politico: The same pattern holds true in Ohio, which has been embroiled in litigation over cuts to the state’s “Golden Week” of early voting. A 2015 paper showed that restricting in-person absentee voting in Ohio would have disparate impacts on different racial groups and that African Americans would be hardest hit by such cuts.
Automatic Vote by Mail (or as Steve Silberstein likes to say, Vote-at-Home): OR, WA and CO have it. In 2018, 14 counties in CA will be allowed to pilot this. (with passage of Common Cause-backed Senate Bill 450).
The first wave of vote-by-mail studies found a huge jump in turnout, ranging from 10 to 19 percent. But as voters settled into the new laws, follow-up studies showed significantly less impact. A 2007 study in Washington found a 5 percent impact. A study in Switzerland, conducted from 1970 to 2005, saw a turnout increase of 4.1 percent.
There’s also no indication that these modest increases are skewed toward any particular racial or ethnic group.
Same Day Registration – 13 states, plus Utah as a pilot, plus DC.
Same-day registration not only eases access, but also solves the problem of inaccurate voter rolls from which people who move frequently, might have purged or left off.
According to a study from Demos, one such group, same-day registration can increase turnout from 3 percent to 6 percent. Pew Charitable Trusts found that one in eight voters in states with same-day registration used it in the 2012 election.
Not having to register in advance appears to boost minority voting disproportionately. In North Carolina, African-American voters accounted for 35 percent of those who used same-day registration in 2012, though African Americans made up only 22 percent of the electorate, according to PBS.
While voters who move frequently tend to be younger, and younger voters tend to vote Democrat, that’s not always the case. A 2012 study looking at Wisconsin’s same-day registration found that while it increased turnout, it actually decreased Democrats’ share of the presidential vote.
North Carolina passed a law banning same-day registration in 2013, but it has since been overturned.
Vote Centers: In CO, soon CA (14 counties piloting in 2018 with passage of Common Cause-backed Senate Bill 450).

9. 29% of Non-Voters are not satisfied,
not interested
13% Did Not Like Candidates, Campaign Issues
16% Not Interested
Let’s look at the other reasons.
Redistricing Money in Poltics - Solutions:
Long-range reforms to addressing Money in Politics, Redistricting and the Electoral College, Primary Elections would go a long way to open up the process to the new generation of voters who can have great impact on election outcomes when they have access to, and realize their political power.

10. Voters feel their votes don’t matter
Solutions: Public Financing

11. Public Financing diversifies the candidate pool, broadens the electorate
Solutions:
Long-range reforms to Redistricting, Money in Politics, and Primary Elections would go a long way to open up the process to the new generation of voters who can have great impact on election outcomes when they have access to, and realize their political power.

12. Redistricting Reform

13. National Popular Vote Every person’s vote should count

14. Karen Hobert Flynn For more information, contact: