*Please Spread Far And Wide For
Democracy!!
Congressional
Luncheon Briefing: Mark The Date
Featuring national civil
rights leaders, scholars, and top voting experts
*Moderated by renowned news
journalist Roland S. Martin of NewsOne
“How
Voter Suppression Efforts Are
Threatening
Our Democracy”
Thursday,
April 21, 1:00pm-3:00pm
2237
Rayburn Building
(lunch
starts at 12:45pm)
Dear Colleague:
You are cordially invited to an important Congressional
briefing on the threat of voter suppression across the United States.
The
briefing will be held Thursday, April 21, 2016 from
1:00p.m.-3:00p.m. in 2237 Rayburn HOB. Lunch will be served
at 12:45p.m.
The briefing is being sponsored by the Transformative
Justice Coalition (TJC), led by noted civil rights attorney Barbara R. Arnwine,
former Executive Director of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,
and also sponsored by the National Election Defense Coalition (NEDC).
The evisceration of provisions of the Voting Rights Act by
the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in the Shelby case has
allowed states to brazenly restrict voting rights. This includes, but is not
limited to, proof of citizenship laws, strict photo identification
requirements, early voting cutbacks, and practices that create extreme waiting
lines in predominately democratic precincts where there is a large presence of
African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and university students.
Recent studies reveal that new state voter suppression
could stop approximately 1.3 million from voting in competitive states. At the
briefing, you will hear from the nation’s top experts on how scores of
Americans are being denied the right to vote in states that have passed onerous
voting laws. In Texas alone, half a million people lack the photo
identification required to vote. Thirty-two states have promulgated new Jim
Crow laws to combat the largely mythical "voter fraud." Sixteen
of these states will see their plans go into effect for the first time in the
crucial 2016 elections.
Additionally our aging voting machines and insecure
vote-counting technology poses serious questions about vulnerability and
accuracy.
At this Congressional briefing new information based
on the 2016 primaries voting experiences, and on 2016 published
reports and books, will be explored. The briefing will also feature
recommendations and proposals for combating and redressing voter suppression,
and legislation promoting an open, transparent and inclusive franchise for all
eligible citizens.
Opening Remarks:
Rep. John Conyers
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Rep. Terri Sewell
Rep. Maxine Waters
Speakers:
Rev. William Barber
Executive Director, N.C. NAACP
Leader, Moral Monday/Forward Together Movement
Barbara R. Arnwine
President, Transformative Justice Coalition
Former Executive Director, Lawyer’s Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law
Ari Berman PhD
Senior Contributing Writer for the Nation Magazine,
Voter Rights expert and author of “Give Us the Ballot”
Robert J. Fitrakis PhD
Professor, Columbus State College, Phd
Election Defense Expert on Vote-Counting Security and
Election Fraud
Lindsey Nielson, PhD
University of California San Diego,
Author of the recent UCSD Report on How Voter Suppression
Laws Are Restricting the Vote in Communities of Color.
Rep. John Conyers, NEDC, 571 344-1518; or email at Joel.R.Segal@gamil.com, or contact
Dijon Kraus, Transformative Justice Coalition, 202 602-7080, email at dkraus@tjcoalition.org