Video: Ways to recognize, combat voter suppression

7th Jun 2021

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey wasted no time in signing a partisan voter-suppression bill that would have impacted 126,686 voters in the 2020 election had it been in effect.

Voters who did not cast ballots in the previous two elections (2018 and 2016), as is now required, could have been removed from the voter rolls under the new law, which was signed by the governor less than hour after its passage along party lines.

In essence, SB 1485 removes the word “permanent” from the Permanent Early Voting List, or PEVL as it is affectionately called by Arizonans, with nearly nine of 10 voters choosing early ballots to vote by mail. That means if a registered voter skips two election cycles without casting a ballot, unless they notify election officials, they will be removed from the voter list.

Last week, Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona hosted a Zoom panel discussion regarding voter suppression.

Representing CPLC Action Fund, I was pleased join the other panelists:

• Reginald Bolding, House Minority Leader, District 27 Representative, Our Voice, Our Vote AZ, Co-Executive Director
• Soncia Coleman, Senior Director of State & Federal Policy, Voting Rights Lab
• Dr. Gerae Peten, former District 4 Representative, NAACP West Valley, Committee of Political Action Chair

• Fred Yamashita, Arizona AFL-CIO, Executive Director
• Moderator: Tim Hernandez, Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona, Voting Rights Organizer

The Zoom panel discussion was broadcast live, but in case you missed here, here’s the link.

 

I invite you to give it a watch/listen and become better informed about voter suppression taking place in Arizona and other states. And, as always, I welcome your support in joining our continual efforts for increased voter registration, voter education and voter engagement.

 

Please donate to CPLC Action Fund.

 

Joseph Garcia

Executive Director

CPLC Action Fund