This Week in Voter Suppression July 6 – 12

By Chris deLaubenfels, Director of Policy and Communications, Let America Vote

2020 Census Victory

It looks like the rollercoaster ride of whether or not the citizenship question will go on the 2020 census has finally come to an end. On Thursday, President Trump announced that his citizenship question would not be going on the 2020 census. This came after a wild few weeks: 

Two weeks ago, the United States Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s citizenship question. 

Last week, Department of Justice attorneys stated that the census would be printed without the citizenship question. Yet in a turn, Pres. Trump announced in a Twitter rampage that his citizenship question would be on the 2020 census. 

This week, Attorney General William Barr claimed that the DOJ would figure out how to get the citizenship question on the census. Then, DOJ attorneys attempted to withdraw from the citizenship question case in the Southern District of New York – but that motion was denied by Judge Jesse Furman because the attorneys had provided no reason why they needed to withdraw. Finally, the ride came to an end yesterday with Trump’s announcement.

This is a huge win for democracy. Getting an accurate count of the people in the United States is crucial to representation and redistricting. 

Florida’s New Poll Tax

ICYMI: Florida state Senator Janet Cruz, member of Let America Vote’s Board of Advisors, penned an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel admonishing Florida Republicans for enacting a poll tax against Florida voters. 

Chris (?) Kobach for Senate

Infamous vote suppressor and pal of white supremacists Kris Kobach announced that he is running for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Unfortunately for the Kobach camp, the campaign did not kick-off without a hitch as Kobach misspelled his own name on his senate registration form. While that might not seem like a big deal, Kobach himself has tried to purge voter rolls for names that do not match a voter’s ID exactly. We think it’s only fair that Kobach be purged from running for Senate.

Some Good News in Voting Rights

Delaware passed early voting! Delaware voters will now be able to cast their ballot 10 days before any election. 

Oregon will now pay for pre-paid postage for mail-in ballots. Governor Kate Brown, member of the Let America Vote Board of Advisors, has been a strong advocate for pre-paid postage in hopes to raise voter turnout. This is a win for making voting more accessible!