VOTER SUPPRESSION BILLS VETOED

Good Jobs Now praises Gov. Snyder, cites May action

LANSING, MI – Members of Good Jobs Now, who in May protested a state House committee hearing where legislators considered bills that would lead to voter suppression, applauded Gov. Rick Snyder’s veto of some of those bills Tuesday and credited their efforts with helping to impact his decision.

“The governor heard us and did the right thing by vetoing these bills that would have made it a lot harder to register to vote and more difficult for people to cast a ballot,” said Pastor W.J. Rideout of All God’s People church in Detroit, who was among the hundreds who protested at the May 22, 2012, hearing. “Today, Democracy won.”

At the protest, a crowd including Good Jobs Now activists said the legislation would have hurt seniors, young people and people of color in particular. One of the bills would have required a photo ID for absentee ballot requests. Another would have made it more difficult for organizations to run registration drives.

“I think this is a small step to Gov. Snyder’s doing what he needs to do in terms of what’s right for the state,” said Rev. Charles E. Williams II, pastor of Historic King Solomon Baptist Church.

Despite claims that the bills would prevent voter fraud, studies have consistently shown that such instances are rare. For example:

• A 2007 study by the Brennan Center found that most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless, and that the type of individual voter fraud at the heart of many recent legislative efforts—especially efforts to require certain forms of voter ID—simply does not exist.

• Tova Wang, a fellow at Demos and the Century Foundation, said in an April 2012 interview with U.S. News and World Report that “we do not have a serious problem with fraud in this country” at the polling place.

• A 2011 Brennan Center study of 14 states that passed laws or executive orders addressing fraud found that the laws could make it harder for a total of 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots. Those voters are largely persons of color, young people and seniors.

ABOUT GOOD JOBS NOW
Good Jobs Now is a broad coalition of community groups, faith leaders, concerned citizens and the labor sector that is committed to solving the issues facing our neighborhoods and holding decision makers and elected officials accountable for creating jobs. www.goodjobsnow.org