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Groups initiate effort to help felons regain voting rights
St. Petersburg Times
December 7, 2007

Florida civil rights organizations launched a Web site and hotline Thursday to help more than 250,000 ex-offenders regain the right to vote in time for the 2008 presidential election.

...

The new effort is called Restore My Vote. The Web site is www.restoremyvote.com and the toll-free number is 1-877-60-RESTORE, or 1-877-607-3786.

"Voting is our voice, the guarantee of our democracy and the first road to empowerment for our communities," said Reggie Mitchell, Florida counsel for the People for the American Way Foundation. "Many newly eligible citizens have no idea their voting rights have been restored, or that they must register to vote in order to go to the polls in 2008."



Groups want more felons to vote
Tallahassee Democrat
December 7, 2007

Civil rights groups stepped up their effort today to get convicted felons to the polls, launching a toll-free hotline and Web site to help with voter registration.

The People for the American Way and the Florida Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union compiled a database of 250,000 convicted felons who have had their civil rights restored and who may or may not be registered to vote.

The groups trumpeted their site, restoremyvote.com and a hotline, (877) 607-3786, to help with the process.

“Voting is our voice, the guarantee of our democracy and the first road to empowerment for our communities,” said Reggie Mitchell, Florida legal counsel for the People for the American Way. “This is our effort to expand the electorate and we’re asking for help.”



Groups want state to do more to help ex-felons vote
The Associated Press
December 6, 2007

A civil rights restoration coalition Thursday urged Gov. Charlie Crist to make it easier for ex-felons to become voters.

Another group, People for the American Way Foundation, also announced it has set up a Web site and toll-free line to help ex-offenders find out if their rights have been restored and provide them with voter registration assistance.

"There are thousands of Floridians across the state who may not know they are eligible to register and vote," said Reggie Mitchell, the foundation's Florida legal counsel. "It's time to bring the voters in, not shut them out."



Restore my vote
Tampa Bay’s 10 News
December 6, 2007

Tallahassee, Florida -- There’s a new way for convicted felons to find out whether their rights have been automatically restored.

...

“Voting is our voice, the guarantee of our democracy, and the first road to empowerment to our community,” said Reggie Mitchell, Florida Legal Counsel for People For the American Way.

And now there’s a new database where ex-convicted felons can log on and find out whether their rights have already been automatically restored. The website is: http://www.restoremyvote.org/.

"Many new eligible citizens have no idea that their voting rights have been restored or that they must register to vote to go to the polls in 2008,” said Mitchell.



Voting rights groups provide aid to felons
WMNF 88.5 (Tampa)
December 6, 2007

Today three groups, led by the Washington-based People For the American Way, announced that they have created a website and a toll-free telephone number to help ex-offenders in Florida find out whether their voting rights have been restored. The resources also provide information and assistance on registering to vote.

Reggie Mitchell is with the Florida branch of the People For the American Way. WMNF asked him what happened since Crist’s decision in April to automatically restore ex-felons rights.

The website is called RestoreMyVote.com; the toll-free number is 1-877-60 RESTORE.



Felons' rights
WJHG-TV
December 6, 2007

A new website will help 250 thousand former felons get one of their civil rights back. Since Governor Charlie Crist signed an order in April to cut through the backlog, only 15 percent of those eligible regained their rights. But a coalition of groups says it will try to achieve where government has failed.

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Reggie Mitchell of the group People for the American Way many are unaware.

“Citizens have no idea that their voting rights have been restored, or that they must register to vote to go the polls in 2008.”



'Restore My Vote' effort underway
St. Petersburg Times
December 6, 2007

Civil rights groups on Thursday launched a campaign designed to get an estimated 250,000 ex-offenders back on the voter registration rolls in time for the 2008 presidential election. Dubbed "Restore My Vote," the effort includes a web site, www.restoremyvote.com, and a toll-free hotline, 1-877-60-RESTORE, or 1-877-607-3786.

The People for the American Way Foundation and other groups say that despite efforts by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet to streamline the restoration of civil rights in Florida, roadblocks persist that make it difficult, if not impossible, for some people to get their names on the voter registration rolls.

"Voting is our voice," said Reggie Mitchell of PFAWF. "Many newly eligible citizens have no idea their voting rights have been restored." Even though the effort is supported strongly by Democratic legislators and groups like the ACLU of Florida, Mitchell said the objective is not to help Democrats win the White House in 2008.



Felons voting restoration still needs work, advocates say
Orlando Sentinel
December 6, 2007

An effort to restore voting rights to hundreds of thousands of ex-felons in the state is being slowed by a cumbersome process that still keeps many eligible Floridians off the voter rolls, advocates said Thursday.

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Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet, sitting as the Clemency Board, in April established rules aimed at streamlining civil rights restoration for non-violent ex-offenders who have completed their sentences. But representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way Foundation say the process remains difficult to navigate for many who would be eligible.

"We have seen a marked difference" since April, said Reggie Mitchell, Florida legal counsel for People For, adding that the state is restoring rights to about 7,000 former felons per month. "That's much better than it's been historically...But there is still a tremendous backlog."



Will the 2008 vote be fair?
PBS Now
November 30, 2007

How safe is your right to vote? Former Justice Department official and voting rights lawyer David Becker, who worked under both President George W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton, alleges a systematic effort to deny the vote to hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of Americans. In a revealing interview with NOW's David Brancaccio, Becker openly worries that the 2008 election will not be free and fair. Is our government part of the solution, or part of the problem?



Living in the post-election era and really protecting the USA
OpEd News
November 30, 2007

There's a senate bill floating around, by Diane Feinstein, that's even worse than Holt's unacceptably flawed bill. And sadly, selling out democracy and the American people, People for the American Way and moveon.org have, settled for far too little, having supported the Holt bill. Shame on them both.



Vote Democracy! campaign partners
Independent Lens TV
November 27, 2007

Democracia U.S.A. empowers Hispanics by increasing their participation in the electoral process and registering them as voters, educating them in a non-partisan way about important issues at stake and motivating them to vote on Election Day. Democracia U.S.A. develops Hispanic leaders across America by teaching important leadership skills that they can use to champion causes and issues for the benefit of their respective communities. And, Democracia U.S.A. promotes greater civic participation by educating Hispanics about the American political process and encouraging them to participate within it as a means of improving their quality of life.



Voter intimidation may plague Election Day 2007
AlterNet
November 6, 2007

"No election is ever run perfectly," said David Becker, People for the American Way's Democracy Campaign director, which is staffing a national hotline, 1-866-OUR-VOTE, that will be active on Tuesday to help voters if they run into problems at their polls. "Even if elections are run responsibly, things happen. ... We have to be vigilant."

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Beyond helping people vote on Tuesday, groups like PFAW will be looking for problems or trends that might surface in 2008's presidential election.

"When there are tight elections, like in Kentucky or Virginia, we will be looking for harbingers of what could happen in 2008, in terms of voter suppression and deceptive practices," said Becker. "When voter suppressors get desperate to hold onto power, they do more brazen things."



Twelve senators introduce bill to outlaw voter 'caging'
The Raw Story
November 5, 2007

To date, the bill has also been endorsed by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and People for the American Way.



David Becker Interviewed on To The Point, PRI's Public Affairs Program
May 8, 2007

David Becker, director of the Democracy Campaign: "I understand why [they] have to play blame the messenger: because when dozens of lawyers come out of public service and say, 'There's something really wrong here,' there's not a lot a else they can do. The former chief of the voting section—under whom I served—served for thrity-eight years in the voting section, under presidents like Nixon and Reagan, hardly bleeding-heart liberals themselves. And yet it was this president's administration that drove him over the edge by partisan manipulation."