Update: Alabama voter suppression

Update: Alabama voter suppression

 

 

 

Laura Packard

Thanks again for contacting the Justice Department to protect voting rights in Alabama. I wanted to give you a quick update on what's happened since this petition was launched about a month ago. Together we've sent over 131,000 messages in to the Justice Department, and we're being heard. Rep. Terri Sewell (who represents the Selma area of Alabama) sent a letter in to the Justice Department also, requesting an investigation.1 This story was covered on news outlets around the country, and presidential candidates Hillary Clinton2 and Bernie Sanders3 spoke out against it. The pressure has been so effective that Alabama Governor Bentley partially reversed himself and announced that the closed offices will be open 1 day a month going forward.4 That's a good first step, but it's not enough. As columnist Kyle Whitmire put it, Alabama closed 32 drivers license offices to save 100K, but they are keeping open at least 1 liquor store (at a cost of 75K) so that people won't have to drive too far to buy alcohol.5 The Justice Department sent a letter to the Alabama Attorney General in September, warning him that the federal government will sue if Alabama doesn't follow the National Voter Registration Act.6 This predates the closing of the DMV offices, but it shows that Alabama is on their radar. Together we will keep up the pressure until this is made right. Thanks for protecting our elections, Laura P.S. Would you like to get occasional email updates on voting rights news and actions you can take from around the country? Sign up for my Voter Rights Action email list here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-up-for-voter-rights-updates Sources: 1. "Rep. Sewell Releases Letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Requesting Investigation Into DMV Closures", sewell.house.gov, October 5, 2015 https://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-sewell-releases-letter-attorney-general-loretta-lynch-requesting 2. "Clinton goes on the attack over voting rights in Alabama", washingtonpost.com, October 17, 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/clinton-goes-on-the-attack-over-voting-rights-in-alabama/2015/10/17/dbef615a-7373-11e5-9cbb-790369643cf9_story.html 3. "Bernie Sanders: Alabama Republicans are 'cowards' trying to 'suppress' vote", al.com, October 19, 2015 http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/bernie_sanders_alabama_republi.html 4. "Alabama Addresses Voter Suppression Accusations By Keeping Rural DMVs Open One Day A Month", thinkprogress.org, October 21, 2015 http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/21/3714781/alabama-dmvs-oneday/ 5. "Alabama closers driver's license offices, keeps money-losing liquor stores open", al.com, October 26, 2015 http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/alabama_closes_drivers_license.html 6. Justice Department: We will sue Alabama if it doesn't comply with voting law", al.com, October 23, 2015 http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/10/justice_department_we_will_sue.html